Lost
by hitokiri oro-chan
Summary: Merry is hit by a massive storm and Luffy develops a fever while defending her. Smoker kidnaps him while he's sick and realises all pirates aren't as evil as he was taught. Slight situational out of character.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: You know One piece? I don't own it.

Lost

Luffy shivered slightly and pushed his straw-hat back from it's place covering his eyes as a dark shadow fell over him, looking blearily up at the sky, before he stretched and yawned, finally waking up from his long afternoon nap on the deck by the mast. He lay there for a moment as his eyes processed the sky above him, before he gasped slightly and sat upright suddenly, waking Zoro who was napping a few meters away from him with his sudden movement.

'What?' he asked his captain a little grumpily.

Luffy turned to him and grinned. 'Looks like we're in for a bit of bad weather.' He told his friend, pointing up at the clouds which were darkening before their eyes, a sudden, violent wind appeared from nowhere, the sudden chill giving the two men goose-bumps.

'Hmmm… this looks bad.' Zoro muttered taking in the sight of the clouds before he spun around towards the main deck, his earrings twinkling as he turned – the glinting metal reflecting the first of the lightning. 'NAMI!!' he yelled.

The door to Nami's room shot open and the red haired navigator stalked out towards Zoro, preparing to yell at him for disturbing her while she was in her rooms. Sanji, Usopp and Chopper looked out from the kitchen where Sanji was teaching the other boys how to make cookies, interrupted from their task by the tone of the swordsman's voice – when they saw rapidly darkening clouds their mouths dropped open.

Nami walked slowly to the edge of the deck and placed her hands on the rails. 'Pressure is dropping rapidly, but the wind is increasing… it also looks as though a warm wind is colliding with a cool breeze from the east. In other words…a waterspout...it's like a cyclone but over the sea' She muttered her face pale and her eyes narrowed slightly, adding the brief explanation when she noticed the blank looks on her nakama's faces.

'We need to get out of here or it'll smash the Going Merry to pieces.' She explained to Luffy, her voice shaking slightly.

Luffy's smile faded slightly and he crossed his arms. '…that's not good.' He looked at his crew and noticed that they were all waiting for orders in varying states of nervousness. 'Prepare for a storm!!!' He yelled, his usual grin back in place as he punched the air, obviously excited at the thought of a potential adventure.

Zoro grinned slightly, strange as the younger boy was, sometimes the green haired swordsman couldn't help but be amused at his Captain's odd demeanor. Zoro yelled for Usopp to follow him as he passed, and together they raced up the mast to hoist the sails before the huge winds struck, they knew that if the massive gusts hit the ship while the sails were unfurled there was a very real danger that Going Merry would capsize. Chopper began securing all the equipment and supplies he could, so they wouldn't lose their food to the ocean when the large waves began battering the ship and the bad weather truly struck hard.

Nami had pulled out a handful of maps and was now desperately plotting a course to steer them away from the waterspout that was building in the distance.

Sanji however after quickly securing his kitchen and Nami's tangerine trees which were already fairly well secured as the chef tended to Luffy-proof the kitchen between meals, was unable to find anything else to do that wouldn't get in the way of the others who were all finishing up their own precautions. So he simply lit a cigarette and leaned against the mast out of the stiff winds that were blowing, and watched their captain as he stood defiantly on the figurehead, staring the huge waterspout down in a way that almost looked as though he were challenging it.

The cook started to feel a little uneasy as he watched his young captain dance on the slippery wood, meters above the surface of the water, yelling unintelligible things at the massive storm, but he couldn't put his finger on the cause for his discomfort, Luffy always rode on the figurehead in rough weather - if he fell off, he used his rubber arms to launch himself back onto the deck again, so falling in wasn't a problem for the rubber-man, in some ways it was even safer for the boy to ride in rough weather as he was ready for the possibility of falling. When the water was calmer he tended to be caught off guard more easily. But, when the waves started to swell to a size that splashed over the sides of the deck, Sanji found himself walking rather quickly towards the rubber boy.

'Oi, Luffy!' He began loudly, trying to speak to his captain through the sound of the approaching thunder. 'Come down here for a second.' He gave an internal sigh of relief when the boy turned to face him, stretched his grin even wider and jumped down to join his chef on the deck, one hand firmly clutching his straw hat to his head to prevent the strong winds from blowing it into the sea.

'What's up Sanji?' He asked excitedly. 'Isn't this fun?' Behind him, the lightning in the storm flickered continuously, making the rubber-boy's already excited eyes shine strangely. Sanji grunted in a non-committal kind of way and inhaled deeply on his cigarette, the ominous feeling that Luffy was in some kind of danger building steadily.

'Yeah, fun.' He eventually muttered. Luffy grinned at him, a sudden gust of wind blowing his black hair about his face and making the tip of Sanji's cigarette glow red. The waves continued to build higher and were by now beginning to wash over the deck.

Zoro and the others all walked rather unsteadily towards Luffy and Sanji, fighting to stay upright as the ship lurched on the rough sea, having apparently finished securing the ship and sails. Nami stepped forwards with a map held tightly in her hands, trying to shelter it from the howling winds rain.

'There's an island near here.' She said loudly, straining to make herself heard over the wind. She pointed to a rather small speck on the increasingly dampening paper gripped in her hands. 'It's not inhabited by regular people, however there is a small Naval prison.' She held up her hand quickly, effectively quelling their sudden objections, the rain began to fall heavier with every passing second.

'The prison is in the very centre of the island, surrounded by thick forest. If we dock here,' She pointed at a jutting section of shore on the east side of the island. 'They'll never know we arrived and we can haul anchor as soon as the storm dies down.' There was silence as everyone turned to their captain for orders, he stood there a strange grin on his face his black bangs beginning to stick to his face as the whipping rain continued.

'We'll sail to the island.' He stated. 'There's no way Going Merry will survive a storm like this without taking on some damage. If Nami says we can sail in there unseen, then we'll sail in there unseen.' He nodded at his navigator who smiled back a little startled, although pleased that he trusted her so absolutely. Everyone else stared at their usually clueless captain open-mouthed. _Where did he come up with THAT?_ Zoro thought to himself, lightning suddenly struck the water right next to the ship followed by a loud crack of thunder, everyone flinched at the sound and Chopper clamped his hooves quickly over his sensitive ears. Luffy grinned at his stunned friends. 'Let's go!!' He shouted happily, normal grin in place as he startled them back into motion.

Another massive wave crashed into the Merry Go's starboard causing Nami to stumble slightly, Sanji dove towards her meaning to steady the young navigator, but instead almost caused her to drop the maps into the strong winds when he grabbed her hands. A crash of thunder sounded right above the ship making the deck vibrate slightly as the deep sound continued, by now the sky was almost a pitch black and the swirling clouds continued to move steadily towards the rather vulnerable little ship as the blinding rain was now falling in relentless torrents, drenching everyone to the skin and making the bucking deck even more dangerous. One wrong step and any of them could be swept overboard, into the black choppy water.

'Watch it you stupid love-cook!' Zoro yelled as he watched Nami madly grab at the maps before they flew into the gusting wind. Sanji turned his head towards the swordsman so fast the crew heard his neck crack.

'Ouch.' Chopper muttered sympathetically under his breath, making a mental note to check Sanji's neck later for displaced vertebrae.

'Don't use that harsh tone in front of the lady.' The blonde chef told the other man in an equally harsh tone, ignoring the fact his cigarette had gone out in the rain and taking a dramatic puff, his livid face dripping with rainwater. 'You might offend her delicate ears.'

Nami whacked them on the back of the head with an open handed slap and almost lost her footing as the boat rocked dangerously, a giant wave hitting them from behind, her sandals slid helplessly on the deck, finding it almost impossible to grip on the slick and wet timber, she grabbed the rail to re-gain her balance.

'You idiots!' She scolded over the thunder, pushing her sopping orange hair from out of her eyes with the back of one wrist. 'There are more important things to worry about right now.' The two turned away from their argument almost guiltily as a huge wave rolled over the deck, drenching everyone further from the waist down.

Both Nami and Zoro who were standing next to Luffy, grabbed their captain by the arms, before he could fall to his knees as the strength in his legs was sapped by the unexpected contact with the sea water, a side effect for anyone that ate a devil-fruit.

'Luffy!' Usopp cried bounding forwards. The rubber-boy stumbled to his feet with a rather startled oath and for a moment they refused to hold him. Nami and Zoro held him up silently, understanding how weak sea water made their rubber friend.

Sanji had quickly swept Chopper clear of the wave, turning his body slightly so any sea-water splashes that fell on the young reindeer were kept small and insignificant. The little deer looked at him gratefully.

'Thanks, Sanji.' He murmured, knowing he would have been completely drenched up to his antlers by the sea-water, and as he had also eaten a devil-fruit had narrowly avoided complete momentary paralysis, which may have been enough for him to be swept overboard.. The cook nodded and set him back down carefully, his hooves making small clacking noises as they contacted the deck again.

Luffy raised one hand a little lethargically as he finally stood on his own feet again. 'I'm fine!' He grinned at his crew to prove his point, holding his hat as the winds almost blew it from his head 'That water is cold!!' he announced with a slight shiver. Lighting cracked behind him making everyone except him jump at the sudden sound. The young Captain's grin turned a little feral, his eyes burning with something that looked like anger as he turned to face the now massive storm front. Sanji watched him again, the feeling of premonition now so strong it was almost surreal, and the constant flickering of lightning and black swirling clouds did nothing to dispel his fears.

'We'd better get inside before these waves get any stronger!' Chopper yelled over the approaching thunder. 'Those waves are just going to get bigger.'

The others nodded and began to move towards the galley which was the closest shelter, slipping on the wet deck as the ship rocked and swayed on the rough water. The boat tipped suddenly, again throwing Nami slightly off balance. She stumbled and tripped over a rut in the boards, her sandals sliding and she began to fall. Luffy reached out an arm to steady her and the others continued to the galley, unaware of what was going on behind them.

'Whoa, thanks Luffy!' she grinned. His gave his trademark grin in return, and Nami watched in horror as it slid slowly off his face, his complexion paling slightly at some unknown danger behind her. His eyes widened and a look of sudden concentration crossed over his face, a look she had only seen him wear a few times. She shivered and realized with a sudden jolt that all of those times had been during battles when he was considering his options.

Nami turned slowly, thinking that if anything was bad enough to scare Luffy like that, she didn't want to see it. She gasped as she saw the 20m wave barraging a path through the water towards the Going Merry picking up speed as she watched. Luffy grabbed her around the waist and flung her towards the galley. 'GUYS!!' he yelled. 'CATCH!!' Zoro and Sanji turned first, startled, at the sound of urgency in Luffy's voice. When they saw the wave there was only a slight moment of hesitation before they both leaped forwards. Sanji reaching to grab the startled Nami, and Zoro darting back down the stairs towards Luffy knowing full well that if they were hit by that monstrous wave, the ship would capsize and their captain could not swim.

Luffy stood his ground, by now the growing wave was much too close for any kind of retreat. He was unaware of his first-mate's mad dash towards him, and he raised his arm in preparation. The only way his crew would survive this wave would be for it to be broken up, he narrowed his eyes 'GOMU, GOMU RAPID FIRE!!'

'NO!' Sanji yelled eyes wide, reaching towards his captain as he rocketed himself away from the deck and towards the giant monster, the blonde's feeling of dread from earlier returned stronger than ever as his captain's potential danger became reality.

Luffy didn't hear his cook's startled cry as he flew silently through the turbulent air, easily making up the distance between the ship and wave, he twisted to one side so that his punch would have more strength behind it. Then with a loud battle cry, he plunged his fist directly into the monster wave. The moment his first punch hit the wave, Luffy felt his energy being sapped. He growled deep in his throat as he fought away the sudden exhaustion. _No_. He thought wildly. _If I give up my nakama are as good as dead_. He blinked twice as he hit the wave rapidly several more times, each time sapping more of his quickly fading strength. His vision was beginning to dim_. Not yet, NOT YET!_

He gritted his teeth and hit the wave a few more times, until he felt himself begin to fall towards the sea. _No_! The rubber boy thought wildly as his head span with fatigue _NOT YET!!_ He thought wildly, he stretched his right arm back as far as it would reach, now finding it difficult to breathe properly. "GOMU, GOMU, BAZOOKA!'

He flung his arm towards the monstrous wave as fast and as hard as he could, smashing into it so hard that the massive wall of water shuddered. For a moment there was nothing and the boy though that he had failed, but then the wave shuddered again and with a mighty roar that drowned out the thunder, shattered completely into a billion tiny droplets, the danger to the ship completely expelled.

Luffy gave a small triumphant grin as he watched the wave break up, before the sea-water from the broken wave showered over him soaking him completely, draining the last of his strength and his eyes drifting shut as he finally faded into the grey that had been clouding the edges of his vision since he first touched the wave. And then he knew nothing, as the water below rushed up to greet him.

* * *

Zoro watched his captain battle the monster wave anxiously as he leant on the rails that surrounded the deck, the rest of the crew watching unmoving from the small walkway just outside the galley door. No one moved, no one spoke, the only sign that the scene was not a moment frozen in time was the rain that was battering continuously down on the ship.

Nami was holding onto Sanji tightly, but the blonde chef was so intent on his captain's safety that he didn't even notice. They were squinting into the stinging rain desperately keeping their Captain in sight as they knew eventually his strength would fail and he would fall into the depths of the sea, they just hoped he would be able to destroy the wave first. If he didn't, there would be no way for the others to jump into the turbulent waters to save him.

Chopper's hooves flew up towards his mouth when his sharp eyes saw his friend's movements becoming increasingly sluggish as he battled the wave. 'Luffy…' he muttered under his breath. The reindeer looked up when Usopp placed a comforting hand on his head, the long nosed young man swallowed visibly before looking down at their youngest crew-member. He gave a strained grin and looked back to watch the rest of the battle.

The crew gasped when the wave exploded and they were showered with water even at the distance at which they stood, they all watched Luffy in horror as he began to fall towards the water, seemingly unable to save himself before he finally landed in the water with a huge splash. The was a moment of complete silence as the incessant thunder stopped, lighting flashed lighting up the last of the white-wash Luffy had caused when he fell into the water and then the thunder started again, the crack it made so loud that it sounded as though the sky were falling. The rain began to fall even harder.

Sanji ran towards the railings taking off his jacket preparing to dive to Luffy's rescue, when he heard a splash to his left. Zoro had already dived in. Sanji spun wildly around to the others almost slipping over the rails in his haste. He grabbed on quickly with one arm as the ship rocked. 'Someone grab a rope!' he instructed before turning to face the rough waters again his eyes desperately scouring for any sign of Zoro or Luffy, not daring to even close his eyes to blink in the whipping rain should he miss a sign of either one.

A few tense moments ticked by.

'Here!' Nami yelled finally arriving next to Sanji and tying the strong piece of rope around her waist. 'Usopp has the other end, I'm going to dive in and show Zoro the way back to the ship!'

Sanji stared at her in disbelief. 'No way! There's no way, it's too dangerous.' He reached for her waist, meaning to untie the rope. She side-stepped him and leveled a glare right into his eyes.

'Sanji, I'm much lighter than you or Usopp, so you can pull me back on deck easier, and Chopper can't swim as he also ate a devil-fruit. There's no way I'll be of as much help hauling Zoro and Luffy back up to the deck as you would.' She took a deep breath and continued, talking rapidly. 'I'm also an excellent swimmer, so there's as much chance of me finding them as you.' She flicked her sopping orange hair back off her shoulders to signify that she was done talking, and performed a perfect swan dive off the side of the ship and into the turbulent waters barely making a splash as she entered.

Sanji looked after her in disbelief, his cigarette dangling loosely from the end of his mouth. He shook his head slightly and despite the seriousness of the situation, couldn't help but find he had a small wry grin tugging the corners of his mouth. I think I've been underestimating her. He thought, before snapping back into action and helping Usopp and Chopper feed the rope through to Nami.

* * *

The moment Zoro had dived in, the extreme chill of the water penetrated into him, making it difficult to move properly as he seemed to weigh five times more than normal. He pulled his head out of the water and took a brief second to suck in a deep breath and to orient himself in the water before forcing his limbs to move. He was surprised to see how far the current in the water had already carried him from the Going Merry, but he didn't give it much thought, he simply swam as fast as he could towards the area he had seen Luffy fall, praying it was the right spot.

He raised his head above the water again for a brief moment to suck in another deep breath before diving. He knew it was pointless to call out his captain's name, the curse from the devil fruit caused the younger boy to sink like a stone, and so he dove, swimming desperately, hardly aware of the salt water that was stinging his open eyes or his own need to breathe. Luffy's been under here longer. He kept thinking. I just hope his heartbeat has slowed from the contact with the water, if he's too exhausted to squirm around much his lungful of air will last longer.

A piece of driftwood, knocked by the gale-force winds from the Marine island Nami had been talking about, floated in front of his eyes and he grabbed at it blindly, heart leaping as he thought it was Luffy. He let it go quickly, an almost primal desperation to find his friend now reaching boiling point. He HAD to find Luffy, there was no way that he would allow the boys dreams be destroyed like this.

He could still hear the thunder above him, it was echoing strangely under the water, somehow sounding more threatening but for once he was grateful for the lightning, its constant flickering his only source of light in the oil-black water. He tried not to think about the likelihood of finding a single person in all the water that was surrounding him, not to mention that at worst that person had to be found in a matter of minutes before it was too late. He ignored the pain in his lungs and dove deeper and deeper.

Finally, a few long minutes after entering the water - Zoro caught sight of something flapping in the currents under the sea, he turned his head towards it to see Luffy still sinking quite slowly towards the bottom of the ocean. _YES!_ Zoro thought, diving deeper towards his captain ignoring the pressure that was building up inside his head from having so much water forcing its way down on him.

Luffy's eyes were closed and his face relaxed as though he was sleeping. His black bangs drifted slowly in front of his face, moved by the underwater current and his complexion in the darkness was a ghostly pale, but what scared Zoro most was that the boy's mouth was slightly open; he hoped that Luffy hadn't swallowed too much sea-water. The swordsman grabbed the piece of shirt that had caught his attention and began hauling his captain back up to the surface.

_Please don't let it have been too late_. He thought wildly, his own eyes beginning to dim, as he realized just how far away they were from the surface. _We're not going to make it._ He thought faintly. He shook his head mentally and cast one look at his captain, whose face was covered by his mop of black unruly hair, the strong and ferociously protective boy who he had depended on many times, and was at this point totally dependant on him.

The first-mate slapped himself mentally. _We WILL make it_. He glared upwards, his vision darkening by the second and his lungs screaming for air. His heart was beating so hard that the sound filled his ears, drowning out everything else. The pain in his lungs was now excruciating as he fought the urge to breathe.

Finally, his head broke the surface of the water, but the swordsman then made the mistake of breathing too deeply, the sudden oxygen causing his head to spin and he blacked out momentarily. He woke a few seconds later to find Nami holding both his and Luffy's heads out of water, although she the effort of doing so meant that her own head couldn't stay above the water, she was watching, holding her breath under water as she waited for Zoro to regain consciousness. He quickly took over Luffy again and she resurfaced with a gasp. She looked at the swordsman anxiously. 'You alright?' She asked her teeth chattering slightly from the severe chill of the water.

'Yeah.' The green haired swordsman muttered, shaking slightly. 'You?'

She nodded at him before turning to look at Luffy who was still out cold his black bangs hanging limply over closed eyes, he was very pale. She swung around to Zoro. 'Here.' She instructed, handing him some of the rope that was their life-line to the Going Merry. He grasped it tightly having some difficulty getting his numb and frozen fingers to work properly, when he had grasped the rope firmly enough, she gave two sharp tugs, they waited, floating in silence in the dark and turbulent waters before they began to feeling themselves being pulled strongly back to the ship. The thunder still rumbling continuously and loudly overhead, preventing conversation even if the two had the energy to spare.

The navigator snuck another look at Luffy and bit her lip, she didn't say anything to Zoro, but Luffy had been above the water for couple of minutes now and still wasn't showing any signs of waking up. She hoped that the rest of the crew would pull faster and prayed that they hadn't been too late.

* * *

On the deck of the Going Merry there had been silence, all three people on board desperately watching the piece of rope in the marksman's hands, waiting for it to move so they could haul their friends back to safety.

A strange rumble caught Sanji's attention, he wasn't sure how, but it sounded different to the thunder they had been listening to for the past hour. He gasped and clutched at his shirt, suddenly feeling as though a massive weight had just descended right into his chest, his mouth opened wide and his already doused cigarette fell silently to the deck.

Usopp and Chopper, startled by the Cook's uncharacteristic display of fear looked up to see what had startled him. Chopper stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet and landing on his tail and Usopp seemed unable to move.

It the near distance, the massive waterspout was still barraging its way directly in the path of where they had last seen Luffy fall, now about 100m port from the Going Merry, the great, swirling clouds had all pinpointed together to form a monstrous waterspout, lighting flickered and thunder sounded from inside the massive tube of swirling water, echoing strangely, giving the impression of a giant hungry beast.

Usopp finally found his voice, 'We have to move, the Going Merry will go under if it's hit by something like that!' he screamed at the others, turning to run for the wheel, meaning to steer the ship away from trouble.

Sanji grabbed him by the collar roughly. He glared at the long-nosed boy. 'Nami and the others are still in the water, are you saying we should just abandon them?' He growled.

Usopp looked right back into the face of the livid cook, his face was pale and his eyes were huge. 'I don't like it anymore than you do.' He yelled over the roaring winds. 'But if the ship breaks up then there will be no way for us to rescue the others,' He paused, averting his eyes. '…especially Luffy.'

Chopper tapped Sanji on the leg. 'Sanji, please.' The little deer implored, trying to stay calm in the increasing wind and rain and fighting to be heard above the crashing waves. 'Usopp's right, if we stay in the path of that thing, there is no way that any of us would survive the night!' He held up Nami's map of the nearby island. 'If we can sail here, we should be able to wait out the storm.' He continued, quickly, not allowing the chef time to intervene. 'Luffy has Zoro and Nami, between them between them they should be able to keep him safe.' The little doctor stared full into Sanji's eyes. 'What would Luffy say if we endangered our lives and his ship for no reason, for all we know they're safe already.'

Sanji's temper flared unstoppably and he spun around angrily to glare at the small doctor, momentarily forgetting about Usopp. 'For all we know they aren't.' He yelled over the winds. He looked down into the young deer's eyes and saw the quiet desperation and the unfathomable sadness; but he also saw the resolve, and the intensity gave him goose bumps. Sanji stared at the youngest member of the crew as though he were seeing him clearly for the first time, a small bubble of pride blew up in his chest as he looked at his friend, he hadn't noticed how far the little deer had come since they'd left drum island, clearly their youngest nakama was no longer a child. It seemed that he had been underestimating a lot of people recently.

Chopper stood rock solid on the swaying deck as he stared back at the young cook. He was a doctor. It was his responsibility to make sure that as many of the crew were safe and healthy as he was able. He believed they would find Luffy and the others, he wasn't sure how, but Luffy always managed to defy everything the reindeer had been taught about logic and medicine, it was after living with Luffy and the crew of the going merry that he now truly believed if you wished for something hard enough and put in enough effort. Even you're wildest and most incredible dreams could come true.

Luffy would survive and his nakama would survive with him, whether through his incredible luck, someone helping him in some way, or as had occasionally happened when Luffy was truly in mortal danger, the presence that always seemed to watch over the rubber boy, would lean forward and lend a helping hand.

The doctor stared at the blonde man, resolve coursing through his tiny frame, at this point in time, his purposes was to do everything he could to keep Usopp, Sanji and himself safe, even if that meant turning from the storm and he would do anything in his power to do this, even if it meant fighting Sanji. If something were to happen to one of the others if he had the power to do something and hadn't tried his absolute hardest , he would never be able to face his captain again.

Sanji lowered his head slowly until a veil of blonde hair covered both eyes, rain water dripping from the ends in a steady stream. 'Ok.' He murmured, barely audible over the thunder. 'We'll wait on the island.' Usopp placed one comforting hand on the cooks shoulder before turning to run to the wheel, leaving Chopper to the rudder.

Sanji sighed again and closed his eyes, his thoughts in turmoil. Why did he have such a bad feeling about Luffy? Luffy always came out on top, and the others would ensure that no harm came to him while he was vulnerable in the water if they were able. He turned, intending to head for the galley to help Chopper with the rudder, even in his largest form the reindeer would have some trouble steering the ship in these waters.

He had just about reached the mast when he heard Usopp's voice from the top deck, tight with fear. 'Sanji, Look out!' The cook turned automatically to look behind him, another wave was heading straight for the ship, and although it was not large enough to be of any real danger to the ship like the one Luffy had battled, there was no doubt that it would wash over the lower deck, right were Sanji was standing. The blonde looked around quickly for something he could grab onto to avoid being swept overboard, a thick piece of rope dangled, slightly unfurled from the mast, no doubt blown loose by the massive winds. He ran and grabbed at it, tying the end tightly around his waist, and then he turned and braced himself for the impact. 'Sanji!!!' He heard Usopp yell one more time before the full force of the wave slammed into him, his head rammed into the mast and he felt himself pinned as the wave continued to rush over him, he forced himself not to black out as his head spun, he had not had a change to take a proper breath before the wave hit and the collision with the mast had knocked what little he had left out of his lungs.

He forced himself not to breathe in the water that was still rushing over him, preventing him from moving, he was fighting to keep his mouth closed, the pressure of the water trying to force its way down his windpipe.

Finally, after a few long moments the wave passed and Sanji gasped in a breath of air, the pain in his head intensified and he fell forward onto his knees.

'Sanji!' Usopp cried again, unable to leave the top deck or the wheel he was desperately trying to control would spin wildly in the huge waves, throwing them off course. The jolt of falling to his knees caused the blonde's spinning head more agony and the chef slumped forwards unconscious, the rope still tied around his waist.

* * *

They watched the approaching waterspout with horror as it began sucking up the water around them growing in size and gaining power. Zoro gripped his captain tighter and grabbed some of the rope Nami was still attached to and tied it around his waist. He looked at her with a strange glint in his eye. 'Whatever happens…' he said cryptically, not finishing his thought.

Nami understood though and gave a wan smile. Zoro grinned humourlessly and slashed at the rope that tied them to the Going Merry with the small knife he kept in his sash. If they were going to have a chance of survival, the swordsman knew they would more easily be dragged under by being connected to the distant boat, than they would if they were separated from it.

The green-haired swordsman then gave the impression that he was about to smile, without actually smiling, and both he and the red-haired navigator turned to face down the massive twister their captain limp between them.

A/N – So, what do you guys think? They'll get to the island next chapter and Smoker will come into the story. Please review, constructive criticism is always welcome. I'd really like to know what you think. The rest of the story is mapped out, so the next chapter should be up in a week or so.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – I don't own One Piece

First of all I'd like to send a sincere thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter of my story! This chapter is dedicated to you guys!!! I really appreciate it, reviews are why people post on this forum the constructive criticism helps write future stories.

On that note, I'd like to say how incredibly rude it is when people either add a story to their favourites list, or add it to their alerts list and don't bother to review.

There were about 9 or 10 of you who did it last chapter and I was tempted to remove this story from the site. I write for my own enjoyment, and I have no obligation to share the stories. I'm sure other people who add content onto this site feel the same.

So please, whenever you add a story to your favourites/alerts list (not just my stories, but any story) take the time to flick the author a quick review and let them know what you liked. You'll be surprised how far a positive comment can go. If you let them know exactly what you liked they might even write more of it.

Anyway, enough of my whining, on with the story!!

* * *

Lost

Chapter 2

The first thing Zoro felt was pain, it was coursing through his back and legs as though a million tiny needles were prickling him all over. He snapped his eyes open to find himself lying on his back on a sandy beach, he looked up at the stars for a few moments before his mind caught up. If he could see stars there were no clouds, the storm must have passed. It also meant that he had been unconscious for about 3 hours.

He lay there for a few more moments, his brain piecing together the ferocious battle he and Nami had put up, trying to keep both their own heads and their unconscious captains above water during the onslaught.

If it hadn't been for Nami, the swordsman was pretty sure the three of them would have drowned, Luffy always seemed to weigh so much more when was in the ocean and whenever Zoro started to struggle too much, tired to the point of exhaustion from keeping the boy's head as well as his own out of the water and away from the worst of the waves, he felt Nami's arms around Luffy, gently removing him from his swordsman's grip and supporting their captain for a while to allow Zoro to regain some of his strength, she was an excellent swimmer and supported Luffy until Zoro sensed that she was tiring and took the captain back. And so they continued, the waterspout steadily moving towards them, it had passed the spot where Luffy had fallen hours before and was now gaining on the desperately swimming crew.

Finally, just as they caught sight of land through the torrential rain, the very edge of the twister hit them with its deflected force and they were caught in a sudden tsunami which was heading towards the beach. Nami screamed and Zoro grabbed her by the hand, she gripped his back and they both held onto Luffy.

'Don't let go!' Zoro yelled.

The relatively small tidal wave broke over the shore, the last thing Zoro remembered was Luffy being wrenched from their hands and yelling after him, barely recognizing his voice as it cracked with exhaustion and desperation. It was then he hit his head on the shore and remembered no more.

The thought of his friends finally caused him to move, he smirked slightly as instead of the crippling pain he was expecting to feel when he sat up, the prickling pain was instead relieved, apparently the pain in his back and legs had been cased by a thorn bush he had been washed into on the beach.

He stood carefully, picking out the last remaining thorns as he looked around warily, he looked down curiously when he found a large bump down the front of his shirt, he pulled his shirt up to find the Luffy's straw hat had somehow jammed itself down there, he shook his head, _I guess he really is meant to keep this thing_. He thought wryly. Then Zoro noticed that the rope was still around his waist and he grabbed at it quickly, thinking that the other end would at some point be tied to Nami. He followed it along for a few meters before the rope appeared to snag.

He ran forward quickly as he saw a dark lump huddled on the moonlit beach. He dropped to his knees next to Nami who began to stir as though sensing his presence near her. She opened her eyes sluggishly and stared at the swordsman in confusion for a long moment. 'Zoro, what…?' she muttered groggily. He noticed her eyes taking in her surroundings as her brain caught up. 'Where are we? Where's Luffy?'

Zoro shook his head as he helped her to stand, she was also uninjured except for some minor bruising and cuts. 'I only woke up a minute ago.' He told her. 'I followed the rope to you.' He gestured at her waist.

She began untying it automatically, her eyes scanning the nearby area for a sign of their friend.

'We'll find him.' Zoro said with the utmost confidence. 'A little storm like that couldn't do Luffy in, he's probably somewhere further up the beach.'

She nodded towards a small pile of rocks about 400m up the shoreline, 'Why don't we look from on top of those?' She suggested. 'We'd have a better view and might see Luffy.'

Zoro nodded and the pair trudged towards the rocks.

* * *

Sanji awoke to find a blurry face hovering over him worriedly. He groaned and attempted to sit up, but found that he was being gently pushed back down. Chopper's voice brought him fully back to consciousness. 'Just sit still for a minute, Sanji.' The little doctor told him. 'You have a concussion.'

'What happened?' The cook asked groggily, not needing the reindeer's warning as even with his eyes closed his head was spinning so much that he was having trouble staying coherent.

'A wave smashed you into the mast.' The reindeer told him. 'You bumped your head.'

'A wave?' Sanji asked curiously. 'Why would a wave…' his eyes snapped open as he remembered the previous night, his missing friends and the gigantic storm. He looked around somewhat wildly to see that although it was still very windy, the sky was a very pale blue, as though just past dawn, and the sea although choppy, was calm enough by sailing standards. 'Where's Usopp?' the blonde man asked, finally sitting up and reaching for a cigarette, hoping it would dispel some of the massive headache he was now sporting.

Chopper looked at the cigarette in distaste and pointedly moved upwind so he wouldn't have to smell it. 'He's sleeping.' He told the man. 'He exhausted himself steering the ship all by himself through that storm and passed out a few hours ago. We're about an hour from that island and Usopp said with the wind and the way the waves were blowing that Luffy and the others may have washed up there.'

Sanji sighed. 'Well, at least we have somewhere to start looking.'

Chopper looked down a little. 'I don't think any of us would be here right now if it wasn't for Usopp.' He said in a low voice.

Sanji looked down at the young reindeer curiously for a moment, before clapping one hand on the antlered head. He grinned and Chopper looked up at him.

'Well, with Usopp and me out-cold, someone had to have steered and anchored the ship safely.' He pointed at the anchor rope which was in the water and the island just beyond, he realized how much effort it would have taken the little reindeer, even in his biggest form to have lifted that anchor all alone.

He knew his guess had been right when the little reindeer blushed crimson.

'Good job.' Sanji added, grinning at his friend, 'I'm going to make us a quick breakfast while Usopp sleeps a little longer and then we'll go looking on that island for Luffy and the others.' He looked once over his shoulder to see the doctor doing his happy dance.

* * *

They'd been standing on the small pile of rocks for about 10 minutes looking as far out to sea and as far up both ends of the beach as they could for any sign of Luffy. Finally, Nami dropped her head slightly as she pondered what to do next. The sun was finally rising and it looked as though it would be a beautiful day.

A strange glint, like a firefly caught her eye and she looked down to see what could have caused it. 'Zoro, look!' she gasped.

The swordsman ran over from his side of the rock platform to look into the sea just below them, where the navigator was pointing. There in the water, completely unconscious with his legs still half-submerged in sea water was…

'LUFFY!' Zoro yelled, leaping into the water with a splash to pull his young friend out of the rising tide.

Nami jumped down to help him and after a few minutes they had pulled him out of the water and onto the sandy beach. Luffy simply lay, sprawled on the beach where he had been pulled, his mouth slightly open and his face unnervingly pale as his friends paused to catch their breath beside him.

Nami, still panting from exertion kneeled next to him, placing one arm underneath her unresponsive captain to pillow his head on her lap. His eyes didn't even flicker. Nami shakily reached towards the boy's neck for a pulse, Zoro held his breath as he watched. Nami felt so dizzy with relief when she found the somewhat thready beat that for a moment her head spun.

Zoro kneeled down next to them, Luffy's breathing was normal, although a little shallow. There were also no cuts or bruises that looked as though they could be related to his current state.

'It must be from being in contact with the sea for so long.' He said slowly, looking up at Nami's own worried face only briefly, before turning his gaze back to Luffy. 'I don't think he's been in it for such a long time since he ate the devil-fruit.'

Zoro reached down to tap his captain gently in the face, there was absolutely no response. He slapped him a little harder and still there was no reaction, Luffy simply lay pale and unmoving. The green-haired young man shuddered mentally, it was strange seeing Luffy so still... It wasn't as though seeing him sleep was strange, he trusted his crew completely and fell asleep whenever and wherever he was tired - which although was not that common, was also not so strange as to be considered bizarre, but Luffy was the kind of person who was almost as energetic in sleep as he was when he was awake, turning over every few seconds and talking to his dreams.

Even when his crew had occasionally seen him unconscious or wounded after battles, Luffy was never this still, arms thrown above his head and snoring loudly

He looked up at Nami who was gently stroking the black bangs away from Luffy's face to at least try and make him more comfortable, and realized he must look as worried as she did. He schooled his expression into a blank sneer and spoke wryly, trying to dispel his own fears as well as hers.

'First of all we need to find some firewood and cook some breakfast to warm ourselves up.' He said as he stood. 'We'll be no use if we're so weak from hunger that we can't move.'

They both looked down quickly as they heard a very faint groan from their captain, his dark brown eyes had opened a crack. 'Food…?' he mumbled in a slow voice before his eyes slowly closed and he faded out on them again.

The two smiled at each other. 'I think he'll be fine.' Nami stated, Zoro chuckled and headed off into the nearby forest to find some wood and something to cook for breakfast, if he could find any he'd make sure to bring back plenty of meat.

* * *

He awoke with a slight gasp out of total unconsciousness to the smell of roasting meat, his sudden return to consciousness making his head spin for a moment as his brain struggled to catch up. Zoro and Nami were immediately bending over him, their voices echoing a bit strangely in his head as his exhaustion kicked in. Zoro was grinning.

'Welcome back, Sencho.' He told his friend, helping him to sit up and slapping his straw hat into its place on his captain's head.

Nami leaned forwards slightly. 'We knew the smell of meat would wake you up.' Luffy looked at her with dazed eyes and she mentally noted his look of absolute exhaustion and very pale complexion, while keeping her grin firmly in place. 'Meat?' he asked. They nodded a little uncertainly watching this piece of information click into the rubber-boy's brain.

'MEAT!!' he exclaimed happily. 'How long till it's ready, Zoro?' he asked his swordsman. His nakama sniggered at the predictable question, both very relived that he was acting more normally.

'It's ready now.' Was the answer as he handed the boy a slab of cooked meat

'YAAAAY!' Luffy yelled reaching out to take it. The grin slipped off his face as his arms refused to move properly, feeling as though they were ten times heavier than normal.

His crew noticed and looked at each other quickly, surprised that the effects of the water still hadn't worn off. Zoro kneeled next to his captain and handed him the meat, he accepted it gratefully and ripped off a huge chunk with his teeth. Zoro grinned as Nami looked away in disgust, at least his appetite was still the same.

'Don't worry about it.' Zoro whispered to Luffy. 'You were in the water much longer than usual, I'm sure the effects will wear off soon.' Luffy grinned at his swordsman in understanding.

Zoro and Nami walked a few meters away from their feasting captain to confer quietly.

'Now what do we do about getting off this island.' Nami asked in a low voice.

Zoro looked out to at the calm ocean as he thought through their options. 'Luffy is captain.' He told her. 'We should include him in this conversation, but I don't think that would be a good idea until at least this afternoon, that way everyone has a chance to rest a bit and we can think more clearly.'

Nami nodded and they turned to walk back to their captain, they were surprised to find him fast asleep by the fire even though the day was relatively warm. More surprising though was that there was still a rather large chunk of meat in his hand, he had obviously fallen asleep before finishing his meal.

Nami shook her head as Zoro looked at her sharply. 'It's fine.' She muttered, bending down to remove the food from her captain's hand and shift it towards the embers to keep it warm for when he awoke. 'He was under a lot of stress yesterday.' She finished dusting her hands as she turned around to face the swordsman, her eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed the big, dark circles underneath his eyes. 'We _all_ had a stressful day yesterday, why don't we try to get some rest as well?' She suggested somewhat blandly.

Zoro grinned slightly as he looked at her 'I can take a hint Nami, in other words I look like shit.' Nami turned quickly so he wouldn't see her grin.

'You said it, not me.' She replied before laying down. Zoro snorted and lay down as well, both subconsciously laying close enough to their captain to keep an eye on him.

* * *

Zoro awoke suddenly to the sound of rocks being shifted somewhere nearby. He groaned as his muscles, sore from being overused the night before, screamed at him and he stood slowly, stretching his back and arms out before opening his eyes fully, shaking away the last of the fog clouding his brain as he looked around.

He looked past Nami, who was curled slightly on her side, still sleeping soundly to the place where they had left Luffy. He was not there. The swordsman spun around quickly to pin-point the younger boy. He did not panic, it was just like Luffy to explore a new place, and it had only been a matter of time before the boy had the energy to get up and walk around. But he was still wary, after seeing his friend so obviously affected by the exposure to the sea-water even hours after he was pulled from it was not something that was easily shaken off and the first mate felt a need to see his captain up and walking around normally with his own eyes.

He turned towards the sound of shifting rock to see Luffy's silhouette walking with a little difficulty as he picked his way carefully along the small pile of rocks Zoro and Nami had pulled him from earlier. Zoro walked towards him rather quickly, calling when he was at a reasonable distance from his friend.

'Oi, Luffy! What are you doing?'

When Luffy didn't make any move to show that he had heard him, the green haired young man frowned slightly and looked at his friend more carefully. There was something about the way he was moving that told Zoro that he still wasn't entirely steady on his feet. He wondered why the black-haired boy would have chosen to walk on rocks so near the sea water when there was a danger that he would fall back into the sea. He walked the remaining distance a little faster, now feeling slightly worried that Luffy hadn't acknowledged his presence. _He must still be half asleep_. The swordsman thought with a slight grin.

He jumped up onto the rocks next to his friend, ignoring the protest from his tired legs. 'Hey, you want some leftover meat for breakfast?' He asked tapping the boy on the shoulder. _That should wake him up._ The swordsman thought smugly.

The smirk slipped off his face when Luffy turned to face him, something was definitely not right. The green-haired young man took in the younger boy's over bright eyes and the crimson blush that was staining his face. 'Luffy,' He asked carefully, approaching with some caution. 'Are you alright?' he asked.

The rubber-boy's black eyes looked back at him, they were slightly squinted as though he were confused and were more than a little dazed with fever. He leant backwards a little bit as though standing on a rocking ship and finding it difficult to find his balance. He grinned, and then answered in a distracted voice as though his mind were far away.

'I should be asking _you_ that.' The black-haired boy countered, his rocking growing more pronounced as he attempted to step closer. 'You're the one swaying all over the place.' Zoro's eyes widened as his captain's eyes closed and he fell forwards still grinning, he leapt forwards to prevent his head from smashing into the jagged rocks. The first mate swept his Captain up quickly and leapt down off the rocks, mentally cursing himself when the jolt of landing caused Luffy to moan slightly in pain.

The swordsman smoothed out his stride, running very quickly but not causing much movement to Luffy as he ran towards the burnt out fireplace where Nami was still sleeping. 'NAMI!!' he yelled, the desperation creeping into his voice again as he felt Luffy's incredibly high fever even through his clothes.

She woke with a start, reaching for her bo-staff automatically, even though it had washed away during the storm. 'Wha… what is it?' She asked groggily, her eyes narrowed when she saw the barely conscious Luffy held tightly in Zoro's arms.

The navigator looked up, briefly meeting Zoro's eyes as she gestured for him to put Luffy back on the sand. She turned to quickly grab some of the water Zoro had found the night before during his search for food trying to keep her growing desperation out of her movements as she fought to stay calm. She was no doctor, and it looked as though Luffy needed proper medical help, she wondered how far away Chopper and the others were… Chopper would have medicine to help.

Zoro watched her rip a bit of her t-shirt and soak it in the cool water he had brought back the night before.

She felt Luffy's forehead gently, before sucking in a quick breath of air as the heat burned her. She snuck a look at Zoro who was sitting staring at his captain with wide-eyes, looking incredibly young, unable to do anything to help Luffy except hold his straw-hat while Nami applied a cold compress.

Luffy groaned quietly when he felt this and forced his eyes open to look at his crew. At seeing their worried faces, he tried to offer them a grin, but soon gave up with a sigh when he realized it was fooling no one.

He leaned his head back on the sand wearily and felt a cool hand push the hair out of his eyes, he knew then from the almost icy-coolness of the hand that his fever must have been very high, no wonder his nakama were worried. Without thinking he leaned his head forward into the coolness with another sigh, and smiled slightly when he felt his head being lifted to be cushioned in an equally cool lap, he felt himself relaxing as the cool hand continued gently stroking his black hair from his face.

His head was spinning uncontrollably from the fever and the hand which was stroking him gently was grounding him, reminding him which way was up. He didn't want to think what would happen to the nausea quelling in his stomach if the hand were to stop and he was left all alone with his spinning world.

'His fever is very high.' Nami said quietly, her hand which was stroking Luffy's hair pausing for a moment as she looked up at the swords-man. Both looked down when the rubber-boy made a rather frustrated noise and began to move around slightly, she began smoothing his hair back again and he instantly settled at her touch. She smiled gently.

'I'll go and get some more water from the stream to cool him down a bit.' Zoro muttered quietly, watching his semi-conscious captain try to absorb some of the coolness from Nami's lap. She nodded distractedly, her eyes on Luffy's face. 'Don't be long…'

As soon as he was gone, Luffy opened his eyes a little. 'Where Zoro?' he asked croakily, blearily looking up at his navigator. She smiled at him gently. 'He just went to get some cool water.' She said. 'You have a very high-fever.'

Luffy looked up at her and smiled tiredly, it was not his usual grin, but a rather small, sleepy smile that took her breath away. 'I guessed that when I felt how cool your skin was.' He told her gently. Nami looked away awkwardly, this was not a side of Luffy anyone really saw. To sit and chat quietly was simply not his style.

She shivered a little when she realized that her normally child-like captain may be putting on a bit of an act around his crew, and only now that he was almost delirious with fever the façade was finally dropping away, revealing more of the person he was underneath.

She doubted that the childishness was entirely an act, there was definitely something free-spirited about Luffy that could not be faked. But now she suspected that it may also have been a mask he wore when he was unhappy or unwell to keep his nakama from worrying. It appeared he was more mature than he let on.

She blushed slightly when he closed his eyes again, snuggling his cheek onto her lap to try and cool his temperature, she felt her heart beat faster. It also appeared he could be quite endearing when he wanted to be.

'Thanks' He told her suddenly, with his eyes still closed. She jumped when he addressed her and then waited a few moments for him to continue, but it appeared that was all he had intended to say, or perhaps his fever had distracted him and deflected his thoughts in another direction.

'For what?' She finally prompted.

His eyes opened a crack and he attempted to sit up, before his fever made his head spin and he gave up with a weak little laugh, leaning back onto his navigator's lap, he lifted one shaky hand up to his face and covered his eyes for a long moment before allowing it to flop onto the sand next to him. Nami watched this uncharacteristic display a little fascinated.

'You and Zoro pulled me from the water...' He said with a shiver, his eyes were open now, staring straight ahead at something only he could see, from his flushed cheeks she could only guess that his fever was getting worse.

Nami hesitated slightly, before asking a question she had been wondering about for a while now. 'What does the sea water feel like? To you, I mean.'

He didn't move for a long moment and she thought he wasn't going to answer her. 'Never mind,' She began. 'I just…'

'It feels like all my dreams, memories and everything that makes me, me are just sucked out with all my strength.' He interrupted suddenly in a tired voice which was beginning to slur slightly with fatigue. 'Like I'm just… empty …drifting in the tide.' Nami blushed again and was thankful that her captain's eyes were closed, this had to be the fever talking, since when was Luffy poetic?

He smirked a bit, the expression looking strange on his face. Nami could literally feel him trying to pull himself together again. Fever's were very strange things, Nami realized. When people had high-temperatures they would let their guard down, the new vulnerability making them tell people things they wouldn't ordinarily say. She noticed him trying to open his eyes again but struggling to do so.

She placed one hand on his chest near his neck and the other continued to stroke his hair. 'No Luffy.' She hushed him gently. 'You need to rest a little, we can talk more later.' He nodded slowly, his mouth opening slightly and he ran his tongue over his dry lips. She understood, even though she suspected that he hadn't even been aware that he'd made the movement, and she reached for the last of the water, holding it to his mouth.

He drank it so slowly she wasn't even sure if he was still conscious or just responding on instinct, but finally when the cup was empty he remained where he was, unmoving with his mouth slightly open. His foggy brain simply too tired to allow him to make coherent conversation.

'Sweet dreams.' Nami whispered. She heard Zoro coming back with the fresh water and she signaled at him to be quiet. He walked over silently, looking at his sleeping captain rather tenderly as Nami rinsed the cold-compress in the new water and reapplied it to his forehead. Nami grinned a little, it was good to know that her captain was capable of affecting even the battle hardened swordsman.

* * *

_A/N – So that was chapter two poor Luffy is acting rather out of Character ,I always think there's more to him than you can see on the surface. He has so many layers but pretends to act so shallow, only understanding simple concepts etc. So whenever I write him, I try to bring out a little of that...which, I guess in hindsight means I can't really write him. lol _

_Chapter three should be up next week and Smoker will make his debut. This won't be a long story, only four or five chapters, but I am currently working on another story which I will be posting in the coming weeks. It will be multi-chapter and longer than this one… another Luffy-centric but with a massive twist._

_As I said at the top of this chapter, if you like it enough to add to your favourites/alerts list please just flick me a quick review telling me what you did or didn't like so I can improve my writing._

_Thanks everyone and hope you enjoyed it!!_


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone, thanks for all the reviews. And also a big, massive thanks to Ryo Hoshi who beta'd this chappie for me! I really, honestly appreciate the hard work!

On with the show!!

* * *

Lost Chapter 3 

Luffy awoke again to the sound of the waves crashing incessantly on the shore of the beach and the soft breathing of his sleeping friends. The sun was out and it looked like it would be a beautiful day, but Luffy barely noticed. He was hot, unbearably hot, yet cold at the same time. He shuddered. He felt like he were a left-over that hadn't been thawed out properly, burnt on the outside but still frozen in the centre.

He stumbled to his feet, thinking he needed a drink of water. He clutched his head, groaning softly and stumbling slightly as the world began spinning, making him feel sick. He staggered blindly into the small forest, heading for the stream Zoro had mentioned. He listened carefully for the sound of water and walked there slowly towards it once detected, the world echoing a little strangely.

He found it with some luck, and dropped to his knees next to it. Luffy didn't understand what was wrong with him, it had been such a short walk, but now he was completely drenched in sweat and was finding it difficult to catch his breath. He bowed his head in exhaustion as he knelt by the cool stream water and dangled one hand into the flowing water, in an attempt to cool himself. He heard a twig snap behind him, but his brain was so foggy that the sound didn't even register until he heard a voice growl behind him.

'Staw-hat!' He turned slowly, in an attempt to keep the world relatively still. Before he had faced his foe, he felt himself being slammed bodily to the ground. He gasped in pain as his back landed on one of the jagged rocks surrounding the pool.

He looked up into the face of his attacker and attempted to smile. 'Yo, Smoker!' he tried a little breathlessly. 'What are you doing he…' He was rudely cut off when Smoker punched him in the face, causing his unresponsive body to smash straight into a large tree. Luffy choked as he hit and then slid slowly to the ground, his head bowed for a few moments, gasping for breath.

Smoker stalked closer, a little unsure as to why Luffy was not yet fighting back. Usually, by this stage, they would be trading blows and insults at a rapid speed. But today, the straw-hat pirate had not even offered his trade-mark grin at his arrival and, after one somewhat weak punch, was plastered against a tree. He shook his head and he walked cautiously forwards; it must be a trick.

He kicked the pirate hard in the ribs, this time pushing him straight through the massive tree he had been leaning against and causing him to fly through the air for a few moments. Smoker watched as his enemy landed hard on his side and slid across the rocky ground for a few moments, before coming to a stop, not unmoving the whole way. Why hadn't the pirate not used his devil-fruit powers to stop himself from falling? This time, the Marine officer chose to wait and allow the pirate to make the next move.

It was several long minutes before Luffy summoned the strength to stand up. Smoker watched in mild curiosity as the pirate stumbled slightly on his feet, as though he were about to fall. Finally, though, the pirate captain was once again standing. He fell into a fighting stance with less grace than usual and shifted his weight to attack. 'Gomu -gomu no rocket!' he yelled, in a voice that lacked its usual intensity.

The weakened attack was easily side-stepped by Smoker, who followed through with an attack of his own. 'Smoke screen!' He bellowed, charging forward towards his prey.

Luffy was still leaning forwards from his attack, unable to pull it back too fast for fear that the jolt would knock him off his feet, leaving him vulnerable. He cringed when he heard the other man's battle cry. He attempted a quick jump to the left, hoping to avoid the massive smoky wall that seemed to be barraging its way towards him.

It worked to some extent, the majority of the attack missinged the rubber-boy. However, the very edge hit his left leg as he jumped and knocked him off his feet. Luffy landed on the rocky ground with a loud thump, his head spinning and his equilibrium trying desperately to keep up. His straw-hat flew off his head and landed on a branch of a nearby tree, but before he could regain his stability he felt Smoker pin him to the ground with a net.

'It must be my lucky day,.' Tthe older man gloated. He pulled Luffy to his feet, still keeping a careful eye on the somewhat - flushed boy who was glaring at him from inside the net. 'To think that I finally caught you, Straw-hat, and so easily too.'

He chuckled and moved closer to properly tie Luffy up so that there could be no chance of his escape. He looked at the boy, curiously and discreetly, trying to pinpoint what could be causing the difference in his usually buoyant behaviour. He walked behind him to tie his un-resisting hands and noticed that the young pirate appeared to be struggling for breath and seemed to be swaying slightly. Smoker frowned a little and moved back around to face his foe head on, no longer fearing that he would escape. He took in the boy's flushed complexion and his dazed black eyes. Finally it clicked into place for the Marine and he chuckled slightly.

_So, __S__traw-hat has a fever_ He thought to himself_. It really must be my lucky day to have stumbled on to him now_. He grabbed Luffy by the rope that was tied to his wrists, pulling him slightly to start himhis prisoner walking. They walked further into the forest, along the rocky trail, Luffy's straw-hat left hanging on the branch of the tree.

* * *

After their hurried breakfast Sanji, Usopp and Chopper had hoisted up the anchor and landed on the sandy beach in a relatively sheltered cove which was hidden by rocks on their left side and a forest in front, to their right, stretched a long sandy beach. 

Sanji jumped off the ship before it had come to a complete stop, not bothering to climb down with the rope ladder. Chopper and Usopp followed more conventionally, climbing down as fast as they could without falling. By the time they had reached the sand, Sanji had already lit a cigarette and was scanning the area around them with desperate eyes.

He knew it was ridiculous, but he felt responsible for losing their crewmates and captain. After all, he had had the feeling that something terrible was going to happen, but hadn't done anything to stop it. The young cook had learned to trust his instincts when they told him something, but in this particular case he hadn't listened hard enough, and now the whole crew was paying the price for his inaction.

He turned again towards the Going Merry as he heard Usopp hitchingt the ship securely to a nearby tree. Chopper was standing in the middle of the small sandy clearing, his sensitive, blue nose up in the air and his eyes closed as he sniffed for any sign of their friends.

Usopp walked over, dusting off his hands on his overalls as he stopped next to the cook. 'Don't worry,' the young marksman said softly, uncharacteristically noticing Sanji's unease, although definitely not understanding the full cause behind it. 'It's a small island, from what I could tell offrom Nami's map.' He paused looking thoughtful. 'If anyone can find a trace of them, Chopper can.'

Sanji gave a small smile to show he had heard, but didn't take his eyes off the still sniffing reindeer. Silence filled the clearing.

Suddenly, Chopper's eyes snapped open and he turned sharply towards the stretch of sandy beach. Sniffing even more desperately, he turned to the others on the beach. 'I can smell Zoro,' he muttered distractedly. 'He isn't far.' He transformed into his reindeer form so he could run faster and pointed a hoof in the general direction of the scent. Without another word, the three nakama began to run.

* * *

Zoro woke slowly to the feeling that something was wrong. He lay silently with his eyes closed, trying to place the odd feeling. _Luffy__ was sick!_ He remembered with a jolt, sitting up suddenly and searching around the campsite for his friend. He wasn't there. A feeling of dread descended into the pit of his stomach. 

This was too much. First the storm, and then the water-spout and losing Luffy in the water. Then there was the desperation of getting to the island safely, before waking up andto finding his Captain still unconscious from some unknown side-effect in the water and then Luffy's illness.

When Luffy had woken up the night before, Zoro had been happy. He had thought that whoever was playing with them had finally allowed them a well- deserved break from the constant tension they had been living under since the storm clouds had first gathered.

The feeling of desperation that he had experienced in the water once again bubbled to the surface as he woke the orange haired navigator. The guilt he felt intensified as the sleepy look on her face disappeared, to be replaced quickly by fear for their captain. He was the first mate after all, and it was his responsibility to keep Luffy safe. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he had failed. He ducked his head as he tried to bring himself under control, raising it again only when Nami took his hand with her own, which was very cold and trembling slightly.

'I hope you aren't blaming yourself for this, baka,.' She admonished him, her eyes glinting with worried tears. 'I was here as well, and it was my idea to rest. I should have remembered to set up a watch, so it's my fault as much as yours. Besides, you should know better than anyone about Luffy's luck. We'll probably find him sitting in a palace, munching on a huge plate of meat with no idea how worried we were.'

Zoro grinned slightly and she released his hand with a shuddering sigh. 'Now, where would you go if you had a fever?'

They both looked at each other as they both had the same thought., 'The water hole!' Before they could run into the forest to investigate further, a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

'Nami!!!' The chef yelled, waving as he ran. The pair both jumped and spun around at the sound of his voice. Looking both happy to see the rest of their nakama and deeply ashamed, the pair rushed forwards, meeting their friends halfway.

'Is anyone hurt at all?' Chopper asked breathlessly, rushing forwards with his doctor's bag., His eyeshead darted around. 'Where's Luffy?'

Everyone fell silent. Zoro looked away quickly, deeply ashamed to have lost his captain, even though it was no fault of his own. Nami quickly explained what she knew, hoping that her rather fractured sentences were getting through to the others. She knew from the sudden pallor of her friend's faces that they understood.

'L…Luffy is sick?' Usopp asked incredulously at the rushed explanation. 'Luffy's never sick.'

Chopper looked towards the sea. 'For a paramecia to be in the ocean for such a long period of time must have really worn down his resistance.' He said. The others listened quietly, knowing that Chopper was speaking both as a doctor and another devil fruit user. 'I can't imagine being in the ocean for that long.' He shuddered. 'I don't think I'd survive.'

The others looked at him incredulously, and Chopper realized that he must have sounded very melodramatic.

'I'm serious,' Hhe muttered a little defensively. 'When someone who has eaten a devilcursed fruit falls into the sea, they lose their will to live, and they lose all sense of themselves— hopes, dreams... everything is replaced with a hopelessness and a weakness that takes over everything,' Nami listened quietly as Chopper told her what Luffy had briefly told her earlier. 'And Luffy was in the water for hours and hours, I'm surprised he only has a fever.' Chopper shuddered again.

'There's nothing worse for people like us than being in the ocean. It's terrifying to feel so helpless, but it's even more terrifying when you realize how simple it would be for an enemy to defeat you or take advantage of you, They just have to overpower you long enough to throw you into the sea.' He made a little move with his hoof in the air. 'and once you're in the sea...' His voice trailed off. 'A lot of people, after being in the water for extended periods of time, have trouble functioning for weeks afterwards and not just physically. It takes a long time to regain confidence in yourself after being helpless and weak for so long.' He looked away from the silent group again. 'Especially for someone like Luffy, who isn't used to feeling weak and exhausted…' He trailed off again.

Nami and Zoro looked at each other. They had been with Luffy the longest and knew better than anyone that their captain had an obsession with getting stronger. Piracy was a dangerous life for all of them, living on the sea. But it was much more so for Luffy, being the Captain of their crew, unable to swim and having a large bounty on his head.

'What are you saying?' Sanji asked carefully after a long silence. 'That Luffy won't be the same when we find him?'

Chopper looked back to the group and shook his head, his ears flapping slightly. 'No, all I'm saying is that he's just experienced a terrible thing and it may take even him a little while to get over.' The reindeer paused for a moment. 'It's not a perfect example, but to give you some idea of what Luffy's gone through…

" Think of it as though if you were tied up against a wall and an army of Marines were all pointing their rifles at you.You know they're going to fire, but there's absolutely nothing you can do with your own power and strength to stop them. You are completely at their mercy, and the mercy of their commanders. Your friends aren't coming, and there is no hope of rescue...- Then, someone comes up behind you, and blindfolds your eyes, and gags your mouth. Now there is no way to even see when the Marines are going to fire, and no way you can talk your way out of the situation. All you can do is wait for whatever is going to happen to happen… completely helplessness.'

"That's sort of how it feels for a devil fruit user to be in the water, except at the same time, your own body won't react at all in the way you want it to. You're virtually paralysed, but the worse part is that, the water does something to your personality. It almost makes you wish that no one would come to rescue you, and that you could just be left there to float in the water forever. But even then, once you've been pulled out, that's not the end of it. _Then_, you wonder how your will could behave been so weak as to ever feel like giving up, yet you still know if you enter the water again, your will will be drained again…' His voice faded away and he looked up to find the crew all standing obviously deep in thought…

'I can't imagine the thought of Luffy wishing for death…' Usopp muttered softly.

'All I ask is that, when we find him, everyone treats him a little more carefully than usual for a few days. Our captain is a **lot** more hardy than anyone I've ever met, so I'm sure he'll be fine.'

Chopper stiffened suddenly and gasped lightly - his head swinging to look over his shoulder and startling everyone on the beach.

'What is it?' Sanji asked quickly.

The young doctor turned his head slowly towards the others, eyes wide and fearful. 'I can smell Smoker.' He whispered.

* * *

Luffy staggered on, gasping for breath and dripping with sweat, pain jolting through his body with every painful step. His body was screaming at him to sink to the ground in defeat and his mind was screaming at him to keep going and not show any weakness to Smoker. This painful internal battle was even more tiring, and now it seemed to be taking all of his effort just to remain upright. He gasped slightly as his sandal caught on a loose rock and he stumbled forwards, pain jolting through his body with every painful step. 

Smoker looked at the boy with a grudging admiration. They had been walking for hours now, and even he was a little tired after walking on the difficult, rocky trail. Luffy had been lookinged on the verge of collapse for about an hour and a half, but had continued to walk on, glaring at Smoker every time the older man looked around. Smoker noticed the young pirate's eyes close as he walked, before opening them again sluggishly, as though he were forcing them— a far cry from his usual boundless energy.

Smoker's eyes narrowed as he made a sudden decision. He stopped, abruptly spun, and placed a hand on the startled Luffy's forehead to check his temperature. He snatched it back quickly and hissed quietly when the heat burned him, staring at the boy wordlessly.

This was not good. The young pirate's temperature had to be at least 40 degrees. He looked at Luffy as he considered their next move and Luffy glared right back,. His eyes were now closing for longer and longer intervals, before the exhaustion from the long journey seemed to hit him all at once. He staggered sideways, only managing to stay upright by a catching himself on a tree, still glaring angrily at the older man. Smoker watched with detachment, as the rather shocked look in his enemy's eyes became even more pronounced and they glazed over slightly.

The Marine could tell that the pirate captain was now having a hard time staying coherent in his own mind, but was still managing to stay upright and glare at the Marine. The older man sighed. The bounty on Luffy might say dead or alive, but this was not the way that Smoker wanted it to end for such a formidable enemy, done in by a simple fever.

As Luffy glared he began to sway. The task of standing after his long walk became too much for his tired body, and his eyes finally closed completely. He fell forwards silently, bracing himself for the impact with the hard rock of the trail, lacking the strength to throw out his arms to break the fall. However, before he had fallen far, he found that something warm and somewhat soft had caught him around the chest. He realized it was Smoker's arm.

'Thank you.' He murmured rather drunkenly to the other man, unsure if he could be heard. He heard an agitated grunt of acknowledgement, then felt himself being picked up. Smoker carried him a short distance before lowering his captive with a slight bump on the some soft grass in a clearing that was sheltered by large trees. He shivered suddenly as the cool grass touched his fevered skin, and he bit his lip to keep from making a sound.

Luffy couldn't ever remember aching this much, and he was finding it rather difficult to focus on where he was and who he was with. He knew that this small reprieve from the march onwards wouldn't last long, but he was eternally grateful that he was now allowed to rest for a moment.

_Looks like Smoker isn't so bad after all_ He thought with a faint grin, before drifting into the black comfort of sleep.

* * *

Smoker sighed as he plonked himself down on the ground under one of the large trees surrounding the clearing and surveyed the boy lying on the soft grass a few inches away. What was he supposed to do now? Taking Luffy to the Marine jails as originally planned was now not an option now; to the older man who had not realized the extent of Luffy's fever before. Smoker had been working for the Marines for many years now, and he had seen first-hand more than a few cases of mis-treated prisoners, especially the younger or weaker ones. He knew that if he took Luffy there in his current, weakened state, the boy would not last more than a few days, which did not hold well with the white-haired Marine's sense of justice. 

He had been taught that pirates were cowardly beings without pride, afraid of hard work, who reveled in viciously murdering innocent people, but Smoker found the way Luffy had walked for so long, when he clearly shouldn't be able to even stand, didn't fit with this image.

Why would Luffy continue to struggle along the tortuous route when he could have easily collapsed? It appeared some pirates did have pride. Smoker vaguely wondered what else he could be wrong about.

He leaned his head in his hand as he heard the boy mutter something softly, his voice distant as though he were miles away and unaware that he was speaking out loud.

'Looks like Smoker isn't so bad after all.' He muttered before grinning slightly to himself for a moment. Smoker watched as the smile slowly slid off the young pirate's face to be replaced by a blank look, which the white-haired officer could only take to mean that the black-haired boy had drifted off to sleep.

'Now what am I going to do with you, Straw-hat?' He asked the other. He didn't receive an answer from the sleeping boy, but then he hadn't expected one.

* * *

'Smoker?' Gasped Sanji, his exposed eye open wide. 

Chopper nodded slowly, and Nami's hands flew over her mouth as Zoro and Usopp paled. Chopper suddenly stiffened again as his sensitive nose caught another whiff of their captain. He moved forwards quickly so he didn't looset the scent, the rest of the crew following as he lead them into the clearing with the water hole.

Sanji and Zoro both started running when they entered the clearing as something caught their eye at the same time. Zoro got there first and reached up to pull Luffy's hat from the tree branch it had flown to during Smoker's attack.

Chopper and the others came up behind them and looked at the hat in Zoro's hands.

'Luffy…' Usopp muttered.

'This way!' Chopper yelled suddenly, startling the rest of the crew who were huddled around the hat, gesturing through the trees with his hoof. 'Luffy and Smoker went this way!' He ran into the bushes, knowing the others would follow.

'I swear,' Nami growled as they ran through the forest. 'If that Marine has hurt one hair on Luffy's head, he's going to regret it.'

* * *

A/N So everyone what did you think? Chapter four is finished and is currently being read over by the very observant Ryo Hoshi. Review if you like it. Oh! And one more thing, just in case you notice some odd spelling, like colour instead of color and paralysed instead of paralyzed, I live in Australia and believe it or not, that's actually how we spell them here grin so please ignore them for the sake of this story. 


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone, sorry it's been so long since I updated this. I actually received the chapter back from by beta a few weeks ago, but real life has been so crazy that I haven't even had a chance to read it through.

Thanks to Zinfer who got me off my butt and reminded me that people are actually still reading this.

Also, my apologies for the dodgy grammar in the last chapter (it's been fixed now) I just want everyone to know that was NOT my beta's fault. I accepted the changes in Word but when i uploaded the document they were all undone again and I didn't read it through properly.

Hope you guys like this chapter as well.

Lost Chapter 4

* * *

Smoker didn't know what to do. It had been around an hour since he had allowed Luffy to rest in the clearing, and the boy's fever was rapidly climbing. The older man had placed a cool cloth on the young captain's forehead, but that had gotten no response other than a brief flickering of eyelids and a muttered 'Zoro?' The Marine officer was quickly running out of options. He knew that if the boy's fever were to climb much higher, he would be in very real danger of brain damage and possibly even death. 

'Che, Straw-hat. How did you do this to yourself?' he muttered under his breath as he replaced the cloth on the boy's forehead.

Luffy's eyes cracked open and he grinned when he saw who was bending over him. 'Yo, Smoker,' he mumbled, his voice slurred by fatigue and almost incoherent. 'It's been awhile…'

'Yeah, it has,' the older man answered automatically, seeing no harm in trying to humour the sick pirate.

'I appreciate this you know,' Luffy muttered, his voice barely audible and his eyes drifting shut again. 'But I don't want you to get into trouble for me…you don't owe me anything.'

Smoker stopped in his movements as he noticed what Nami had noticed earlier. The boy may be a lot more mature than he let on when he was healthy, and was so much more selfless then he ever would have thought was ever possible from a pirate.

The young captain was running a fever approaching 41 degrees, yet all he could think of was how the Marine officer who had captured him while he was sick and carried him away from his crew would be in trouble if he was caught looking after him.

'Don't worry about it, kid,' Smoker mumbled as he placed a fresh cloth on the boy's forehead. Luffy smiled softly and Smoker noticed how young he looked without his trademark hat. He briefly wondered just how old the infamous straw-hat captain was. He shook his head slightly as he leaned back up against a tree to wait for his ward to wake up again. 'I think it's about time I found a way to get you back to your nakama, Straw-hat.'

Luffy smiled in his sleep.

* * *

The rest of the Straw hat crew stood at a fork in the rocky path as Chopper tried to sniff his way to their missing Captain. 

Usopp was using the opportunity to take a quick break from the tiring walk_. I hope Luffy's alright after walking all this way,_ he thought to himself. _If he was as bad as Nami and Zoro said then this walk would have been torture…_ The marksman looked to the rest of the crew and felt his eyebrows crinkling in worry. Zoro was sitting slumped off to one side, his head in his hands, while the doctor found the trail again. He looked utterly exhausted.

Usopp moved over to sit next to him and felt the tension increase in the swordsman, alerting the younger boy that the swordsman was aware of his presence. After a moment, the long nosed sniper spoke. 'It isn't your fault, you know,' he said quietly.

Zoro flinched.

'You didn't do anything wrong. It was all only incredibly bad luck. I know that sounds like I'm just trying to cheer you up, but think about it for a moment.'

Zoro raised his head slightly to glare half-heartedly at him from the corner of one of his eternally narrowed eyes. 'What?' he semi-growled.

Usopp shrugged, for once not intimidated. 'Well, think about it,' he said again, holding up one hand. 'First of all, what are the odds of a giant tidal wave coming towards Merry like that?' Zoro didn't respond. 'Exactly, the odds aren't good. Secondly, what are the odds of the storm getting worse and preventing us from pulling Luffy out of the water for that long?' Zoro snorted slightly.

'Not good,' the sniper said again. 'Finally, what are the odds of Smoker appearing on the island we wash up on, of all the islands in the Grand Line, right when Luffy is sick?' he swept his arms outward as Zoro finally looked at him.

'What are you trying to say?' Zoro finally asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

'All I'm saying is that strange and unexplainable things often happen around our Captain - things that can't be controlled. Somehow, though, things always turn out to be even better than they were before. So give him a chance, our Captain will come through again.'

Zoro inhaled deeply and sighed, closing his eyes. Then he stood abruptly and patted Usopp on the shoulder. 'Thanks…' he said with a small smile. 'Believe it or not, that actually does help a little.'

Usopp grinned and flashed a peace sign at his nakama. 'Of course!' He exclaimed. 'When I was younger everyone called me the Great…'

'Don't push it.' Zoro interrupted, his small smile still in place, 'I'm not that grateful.' He turned to the small reindeer who was still sniffing the air, his eyes closed. 'Found anything Chopper?'

The little doctor grinned and spun around. 'I just found it again; they went this way!' he exclaimed over his shoulder as he started running again, with everyone following.

* * *

Smoker's eyes shot open as he heard rustling in the undergrowth just outside of the clearing he was sheltering Luffy in. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his mind and pinpoint the source of the noise at the same time. He couldn't remember ever falling asleep in the first place. The marine put a hand to his forehead as the crunching of leaves under heavy feet began to get closer. 

_Marines_, the white haired man thought, narrowing his eyes as the last of the fog in his mind evaporated. His eyes shot over to the young captain who was still lying asleep in the middle of the clearing. 'Shit…' the officer mumbled. Rolling to his feet, he grabbed Luffy, silently hoisting him onto one shoulder before quickly climbing partially up one of the taller trees surrounding the clearing.

'Nnn…' Luffy mumbled, his eyelids twitching as he began to wake up.

'Shhh…' Smoker whispered in what he hoped was a soothing manner. _Don't wake up now kid, if they find you it would be the end of you and of my career,_ he thought intently. He relaxed slightly when the young pirate settled again into sleep. With a sigh of relief, Smoker placed Luffy gently into a slight groove formed by two intercepting tree branches, making sure the pirate captain couldn't fall in his sleep.

Smoker then dropped to the ground with a barely audible thud. He quickly reached into his pack and pulled out a loaf of bread and some cheese, to make it look as though he had stopped for a break, and waited for the marines to enter the clearing.

Not ten seconds after Smoker had sat down, a group of four marines decked out in full battle regalia marched into the clearing. They halted at the sight of Smoker and relaxed slightly when he stood and saluted, giving them a glimpse of therank insignia embroidered on his shoulders.

One of them, obviously the leader of the group, stepped forward smartly. He saluted sharply and dropped to attention at Smoker's slight nod, the other three Marines following his example.

'Sir,' the leader began in very businesslike tone. 'We've received intelligence that a small pirate ship has pulled in to harbour. Our information suggests that it may be the Straw-hat Pirates.' The leader then pulled a wanted poster of Luffy out of the pocket of his marine-issue pants. 'This is the captain, Monkey D Luffy.' He moved one step closer to Smoker to be sure the other man had seen the picture properly before he continued. 'Have you seen this man?'

Smoker looked at the picture of the smiling pirate captain for a split second too long, before shaking his head.

The Marine in charge nodded, as though that was the answer he had expected, although he raised one eyebrow slightly at the extended pause while Smoker had studied the picture. He carefully folded the wanted poster, placing it back in his pocket. He saluted Smoker once more and was about to turn to leave when one of his subordinates tapped him on the shoulder. The subordinate pointed at something that was lying on the ground of the clearing. Smoker looked to see what the young Marine was pointing at and felt his eyes widen slightly.

On the ground was one of Luffy's sandals, which must have fallen off without Smoker's knowledge when he had picked up the young pirate.

The leader of the group gestured to the one who had tapped him on the shoulder. The young man saluted and ran forwards to grab the sandal, bringing it back to his Commanding officer who held it up. 'Intelligence has also advised us that Monkey D Luffy always wears sandals which are identical to this one,' he began slowly, before turning again to Smoker. 'Sir, do you have any idea what this sandal is doing in the middle of the clearing?'

Smoker grimaced. 'I have no idea. I stopped here shortly before you arrived,' he answered quickly.

The Marine nodded thoughtfully, 'Then you won't mind if we search around a little bit before we continue.'

Smoker snorted and lit another cigar as his mind searched for a way out of the situation. 'Do as you please.' He muttered negligently his mind racing as the group immediately spread out and began searching for something unusual. _It's fine_, he told himself. _I put the kid halfway up a tree, they're not going to look up there._

'Search the area!' the officer in charge ordered with a wide sweep of his arm, causing his white mantle to flutter from the movement. Smoker allowed his eyes to drift to the ground as the Marine shot another look at the older man. The white haired man allowed his eyes to loose focus, sharpening her peripheral vision and allowing him to keep an eye on each of the searching Marines at once, a trick he'd learned years ago as a cadet.

He started slightly when he saw a strange shape on the ground. It was in the shadows of the trees, but was darker and looked as though it were made of a different substance. The marine stared at it for a long moment, his eyes still glazed over before it clicked into his brain exactly what it was. Before Smoker could move, a loud gasp from the young marine searching to his right caught his attention.

'Sir!' the young man exclaimed, pointing at the dark blotch Smoker had been staring at. 'There's blood.' The young man tried to speak calmly, but his voice was throbbing with obvious excitement as his supervisor rushed over.

_Why is there blood?_ The white-haired marine wondered wildly. _Unless…_ Smoker felt his face pale as he remembered his brief battle with the feverish Straw-hat captain earlier. The Marine remembered punching the boy through a tree and now that he stretched his memory back, he remembered an odd branch sticking out of the tree the pirate flew into. It jutted out awkwardly and it must have cut Luffy, the blood hidden by his red vest.

Smoker remembered the feeling of triumph of finally capturing the infamous pirate as he looked into Luffy's fever clouded eyes. He had been so pleased with himself that he hadn't realized the extent of the boy's illness and forced the long, difficult walk on him. The Marine felt a wave of disgust at himself, as well as an unexpected jolt of respect for the pirate whose determination was apparently boundless.

Smoker found himself believing now how the young man could have beaten Don Krieg and Arlong. He had known that the boy was not as physically strong as the other pirates. There was no way he could have been; he was only a rookie, after all. No, now Smoker realized that the pirate had beaten the others through sheer determination.

For now, though, the Marine wasn't sure how much blood the pirate had lost. Since the young man obviously had a very high fever, too, it was very likely he'd be at least a little delusional. Smoker wondered if the boy would be able to fight at all in his condition.

The Marines all looked up as another drop fell into the pool.

Smoker groaned to himself as the other marines gasped and looked up into the tree. He was surprised to see that at some point Luffy had woken up and was now sitting in the branches of the tree, his normal grin was in place. The older Marine noticed the spots of high colour still on his cheeks, though, and the boy's rather dazed expression indicated that his fever was still high.

'Yo!' he said in a friendly manner, his fevered brain having trouble functioning normally and shortening his usual buoyant vibrancy down to one syllable. The boy swayed slightly, covering it up by leaning forwards in the tree, one hand resting heavily on the branch he was sitting on.

'Sir?' one of the Marines asked, the excitement of finding the wanted pirate again clear in his voice.

'Capture him at once!' the commanding officer ordered, each of the men cocking their guns and aiming them at the boy.

Smoker grimaced and strode forward, not quite certain what he could do to stop Luffy being captured. He also knew, now that he had decided that the young pirate would not be going to the prison on this island, that he had to think of something.

The Marine captain then did something he did very rarely in his life: he tripped. The captain had been so deep in his own thoughts he had not been watching where he was going, and he had caught his boot on the root of a tree. With a small gasp, he found himself hurtling towards one of the men. He knock the younger man's arm, causing him to go off balance and the young Marine's gun went off unexpectedly as they fell. The bullet embedded itself deep into the trunk of a nearby tree.

For a moment there was silence as the remaining three Marines stood frozen, their guns still pointed at Luffy, before the commanding officer finally came to his senses.

'He's abetting the enemy!' he shouted to his men. 'Arrest him and Straw-hat.' He lowered his voice before adding, 'If they try to resist…shoot them.'

Smoker stood slowly as two of the men aimed their rifles at him instead of Luffy, his mind once again racing. If he used his devil fruit powers in a situation like this, he would be instantly recognized and his reputation as well as his career would be destroyed. His appearance might not be instantly recognizable, but his devil fruit powers were well known among all levels of the Marines. The two men closest to him cocked their rifles and began to squeeze the triggers.

'Gomu-gomu no rocket!'

Smoker felt himself being pushed backwards. Then the clearing was suddenly full of the crack of rifle shots echoing off the surrounding trees, so that it seemed like hours before the racket finally died down.

Smoker looked up to find himself on his knees in the grass. Luffy stood in front of him, both his arms outstretched as he used as much of his rubber body as he could to shield the larger man from the hail of bullets. The straw-hat pirate grinned again and stood up straight, bringing both his arms up to he fling back the three bullets that would have hit Smoker. The Marines yelled and dove for cover in the trees.

Luffy swayed as a wave of dizziness from exerting so much energy passed, and very briefly touched one hand to his forehead to help him refocus. He grinned down at Smoker, as he so often did with his own nakama when he was telling them there was a job he needed them to do, and as with Luffy's nakama, Smoker understood. He lowered himself more behind the young pirate, to shield himself from view of the Marines as turned his body into smoke. He then flowed along Luffy's arms and shoulders, to make it look as though the power was coming from the boy alone.

The Marines began to attack again, this time using one of the maneuvers Smoker himself had developed when he had trained cadets. He grinned mentally as he shot ropes of smoke out at all of the Marines at the same time, catching each one in the head and knocking them out as he pinpointed the weakness in the strategy.

_Stupid kids_, he thought. _They should know that that maneuver only works in large groups with people to watch their backs, when they try it like that they are just leaving themselves wide open._ He grinned again as he re-solidified and turned to check on Luffy, who was still swaying slightly.

Luffy grinned dazedly and slid down a tree to sit on the leaf-covered ground, panting heavily and his cheeks bright red from the fever. Smoker squatted down next to him, putting a hand on the smaller pirate's forehead to gauge his temperature. He felt an unexpected wave of relief when he noticed that Luffy's fever had gone down slightly from when they had originally stopped.

'Why did you save me?' he asked the other, more gently than he had intended, as he dropped his hand back down.

Luffy grinned, his eyes closed and his breathing still a little laboured. 'It was the right thing to do. I don't want you to loose your job because of me,' was his simple answer. Smoker stared at the boy in front of him as his breathing relaxed and he faded out once more, his black hair blowing slightly in the breeze.

The Marine stood up and walked a few meters away, lighting up a couple of cigars and putting them in his mouth with a sigh. He had thought that all pirates were the same, vicious and greedy with no conscience or compassion. Yet a pirate, a sick pirate, had just risked his own life to save his, without any thought of personal gain, just because he believed it was the right thing to do… Could it be that he was wrong? The older man shook his head again and he pulled himself together. In any case, they needed to get out of there now before the Marines woke up and called for backup.

Lifting Luffy up easily, he slung him over one shoulder and began walking back the way they had come.

* * *

Chopper stopped suddenly, skidding to a halt as he sniffed the air desperately. 'The smell of Smoker and Luffy just got stronger,' the reindeer hissed. 'I think they're on their way here.' 

The others stopped in confusion.

'Why would they come back this way?' Usopp muttered. 'Unless Luffy somehow beat Smoker?'

Zoro and Nami both shook their heads slowly. 'Luffy wasn't in any condition to fight Smoker when we saw him last,' Nami murmured.

'It doesn't matter why they're coming back!' Chopper began desperately, 'what matters is they're on their way back here right now!' The little reindeer's urgent voice was cut off by Smoker pushing through the last layer of bushes and right into the clearing where the rest of the Mugiwara pirates stood. There was a long pause as the Marine and the pirates stared at each other.

'**You!**' Nami began, reaching for her staff – once again forgetting it had been washed away. Zoro touched her shoulder and she paused to look at him. The green haired swordsman nodded pointedly at Smoker and the rest of the crew finally noticed what the swordsman had seen earlier.

The Marine was carrying their unconscious captain on his back. Another cold compress had been wedged between his forehead and its resting place on the older man's shoulder.

'Luffy!!' Usopp cried, rushing forwards a little hesitantly. He stopped a few meters away from the larger man and glared up at him– with legs shaking, holding out his arms expectantly. Smoker raised an eyebrow before turning his back to face the curly haired boy, bending down until he was almost sitting on the ground so the pirate resting on his back could be removed without being disturbed.

Usopp paused again at the strangely humble gesture from the older man before reaching out and quickly grabbing his unconscious captain. Zoro also rushing forwards to share the load as Sanji and the others stood guard to one side, in case the Marine tried something.

Chopper knelt next to Luffy, who was cradled in Zoro's arms, his dark hair flopping over his eyes and his cheeks still flushed a violent red. The little doctor felt his forehead before exclaiming at the heat. He wordlessly took the cold pack Smoker offered him, placing it gently on his sleeping friend's forehead and placing one hoof on the sick boy's chest to soothe him as he began shivering at the sudden cold.

Luffy cracked his eyes open a little and glanced around before smiling gently. 'Hi guys…' he muttered rather wildly. Chopper nodded gently while the rest of the crew watched their captain with concern, and Luffy smiled to himself and relaxed back into his dreams.

The young doctor turned to the others. 'He's not too bad,' the doctor said quietly. 'His fever is very high, and he's still sicker than I've ever seen him before, but it seems to be a simple virus. Now all we need to do is get him back to the beach so I can treat him properly, but I have no doubt he'll be back up and running in a few days.'

The crew sighed softly in relief, and Usopp put one hand over his heart.

'Why did you bring him back?' Nami began as everyone, including Smoker, began to walk. Her fist was twitching, as if she dearly wished she could use it to punch the Marine. 'If you've hurt him, I swear I'll…'

'I didn't hurt him,' Smoker cut through the threat smoothly. 'Let's just say he helped me to do something I ordinarily wouldn't have been able to do because of my position, and then he asked to be taken back to his nakama. I thought I'd return him the favour.' he paused. 'You have a good captain there.'

Nami looked a little startled at this rather unnecessary compliment, as did the rest of the crew. 'Yes, we know,' she said proudly as they finally came back to the water hole where the whole situation had begun.

They walked in a rather uncomfortable silence for a few moments. Luffy's ragged breathing and their footsteps as they walked were the only things that could be called noise.

'What happened to him?' Smoker asked suddenly. 'A Paramecia like him should have a harder time contracting a virus than a regular human…'

'He was in the sea for around twelve hours after being washed overboard during a storm,' Sanji said tersely, dearly wishing for a cigarette. Smoker almost missed his next step and stumbled slightly at that news. A_nd all he gets is a **fever?? **_he thought wildly.

Chopper nodded as they finally reached the sand and lay the young captain on the sand. Nami brushed his bangs from his forehead and again Luffy unconsciously craned his head towards the welcome coolness of her hand. She smiled slightly and lifted his head into her lap, cushioning it as she had earlier.

'Luffy has always had good resistance,' the doctor muttered distractedly as he checked the boy's pulse, seeming to read the other man's mind. He pulled a little packet of medicine from his bag, tipping the contents into Luffy's slightly-open mouth and then slowly pouring in a little water to wash the powder down. Everyone smirked slightly when their sleeping captain reflexively made a face at the awful taste. 'That should help with the fever, as it's a virus I can't treat it directly, but I can help out with his symptoms,' he said, handing Sanji another cold compress for the young boy as he turned to wash his hooves with disinfectant.

Sanji bent down gracefully and gently swept the black bangs away from his captain's forehead, applying the cold compress and humming reassuringly when his sick friend muttered something incoherent.

'So he'll be alright?' Usopp said urgently to their doctor, no doubt unnerved by the sight of their usually indestructible captain almost unconscious with a fever.

Chopper nodded, drying his hooves on a clean towel. 'He's doing much better than I would have hoped. Don't forget what I said earlier. Luffy isn't used to feeling weak, so this illness as well as being captured would have greatly diminished his self confidence. Please try to be a little more tolerant of him for the next few days.'

Everyone nodded before turning to glare at Smoker. They were couldn't blame anyone for the fever, but they could confront about the other issue.

'Now,' Sanji began, as he turned towards the Marine, 'let's discuss the actual _capture_ part a little more, shall we?' The rest of the crew began to walk forwards as well when a barely audible voice cut through the chaos.

'…stop,' Luffy began. His eyes were barely open, and he was clearly too weak to lift his head, but the tone of his voice obviously demanded that he be listened to. He took a deep breath and began again. 'Smoker, he…looked after me…hid me…from the Marines… Don't…don't touch him.' Clearly exhausted, Luffy's eyes closed again and he panted for breath for a few moments.

Nami, still cushioning his head in her lap, stroked the black bangs from his face in what she hoped was a soothing manner. She was rewarded when he opened his eyes again and offered her the sleepy little smile she had been witness to before.

Smoker looked wordlessly at the young man. Even though he had carried him away from the people he felt safe with, after he had been in the water for so long and weakened so desperately, the black-haired youth still felt no ill will towards the Marine. Smoker again thought back to the grueling walk he had made the pirate endure and felt a tremendous wave of guilt. How could someone who had been put through so much by another person be so forgiving?

The atmosphere had also changed dramatically since the speech. While moments ago it had been increasingly hostile and his crew was ready to fight the Marine, there was now a feeling of peace. The Strawhat pirates all looked at Smoker and he could literally feel them accept him as a temporary part of their group… after just a few, simple words from their Captain, they were willing to let him into their close-knit circle.

As though listening to some unspoken command, the young pirates all moved wordlessly to sit by their dozing leader, each keeping a careful eye on his progress. Smoker moved to sit by one of the trees surrounding the beach, keeping an eye on the little group and not wanting to intrude. He noticed that the young captain was now smiling with a little more intensity; he clearly knew his nakama were close. The white haired man watched him chuckle before drifting off to sleep, nodding to himself and following suit.

* * *

Zoro watched the Marine watch their Captain. He realized that Luffy had somehow managed to leave an impression on the battle-hardened soldier, as he had left marks on his nakama. The green-haired swordsman then realized Usopp had been right. Out of such a seemingly hopeless situation, their captain had again pulled through for them. He had also, in the process, turned one of their greatest enemies into more of a neutral observer. Zoro knew it would be a very, very long time before he could call the older man a friend, but it was obvious that at least some of the preconceived notions the Marine had about pirates had been dispelled during his short time with their Captain. 

Zoro smirked before allowing his exhausted brain to drift off into sleep, confident now that his friend would be safe.

Nami watched her Captain sleep as she continuously brushed her fingers through his silky black hair, smiling softly at the almost contented look on his face. The deep red colour in his cheeks had faded to a pink tinge, leaving him looking almost like he was blushing. The medicine Chopper had given him was finally beginning to work its way through his system, bringing down the fever.

She relaxed as his breathing evened out into a slow, steady rhythm, indicating the young man was now in a deep, healing sleep and would not be waking on his own for a few hours at least. She put one hand over his heart and was pleased to feel that it was no longer beating erratically, but at a steady, soothing pace. She found herself being lulled by his slow breaths and barely noticed when Usopp when he came up next to her.

'Why don't you take a rest?' he suggested. 'I'll keep an eye on him. I managed to get some sleep this morning, so I'm not as tired as the rest of you.'

She smiled gratefully and carefully moved her Captain's head from her lap and onto the sand, noticing how relieved she was when he wrinkled his nose slightly at the small disturbance. It was infinitely more reassuring to see her captain like this than when they had pulled his unresponsive form out of the sea… She stood and brushed the sand from her skirt as she moved a few meters away and lay by Chopper, who was just finishing up the last of Luffy's medicine. 'Baka,' she muttered as she drifted off to sleep. 'You had us all so worried…'

Usopp glanced up from his captain to look around their impromptu campsite and smiled softly. Everyone except him was now sleeping soundly, exhausted after their long night and stressful day. His eyes brushed once over the sleeping Marine and he exhaled gently, looking back down at his sleeping friend. 'How do you do it, Luffy?'

Luffy lips curled in a mysterious smile, and the sharpshooter chuckled to himself. He placed one hand on his captain's forehead to gauge the fever and was pleased to see how much it had already fallen. Their captain would be perfectly fine in no time. With another soft sigh, the curly-haired boy leaned back until he was propped up by his elbows in the sand and looked out at the setting sun, to wait until his namaka woke up.

* * *

Well everyone, that was chapter 4, stay tuned one or two chappies to go. Thanks for reading!! 


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone

Here's the last chapter of the story, it's been so much fun to write, that I've already started (and am a fair chunk of the way through) another Luffy-centric story. I won't put any of it up until I've completed the story though, because there's nothing worse than when the Author loses interest in a story and it's never completed (kind of like my Rurouni Kenshin Fic…).

So yeah, hope you enjoy and flick me a review if you like. Thanks for all your support for this story guys!!

* * *

Lost Chapter 5

It was almost four hours later when the crew woke from their unscheduled cat nap, and they were now sitting around a campfire on the beach while Sanji cooked them a very late dinner.

Everyone kept throwing glances at their captain who was leaning heavily against a rock, grinning happily. He was obviously very happy to have been reunited with his family, even though it was visible to everyone present that the young pirate was still more than a little dazed with fever. His mind was jumping between reality and images his mind was showing only to him.

Sanji walked over to him with a large joint of meat and handed it to the happy pirate with a slight grin. The cook looked briefly into his Captain's eyes and detected that he was still not quite as lucid as he seemed to be.

'Thanks Sanji!' Luffy exclaimed as he took a big bite, before pausing a little sheepishly. 'I don't have any money to pay for it now…' the boy added. 'But, put it on my treasure tab and I'll pay you back when I become a pirate.' Sanji sighed and nodded, wishing the fever would go away faster.

'How much longer will he be like that, Chopper?' Usopp asked, his own mouth full of meat, watching the interaction with concerned interest.

Chopper grimaced and shrugged. 'He was in the water for a really long time…' the doctor began hesitantly. 'But still, his fever is decreasing every time I give him the medicine, so I'm hoping he'll be more like his old self by tomorrow.'

The others nodded as their Captain suddenly broke into loud laughter and pointed at a completely normal rock, apparently finding it very amusing.

Nami moaned and put her head into her hand. 'He's even weirder than normal!'

'Well, it's only natural.' Zoro said a little doubtfully.

'I know…' She stated. 'But still…' the crew all looked over to their still cackling captain and sweat dropped.

Sanji grinned before sighing lightly and reaching over to pick up a joint of meat, placing it in a banana leaf.

He was glad when although Zoro looked at him and raised an eyebrow, the swordsman said nothing, allowing the chef to continue towards the marine who was still sitting at the edge of the beach, his back against a tree.

'Oi.' Sanji called rather harshly. Placing the meat on the ground and pushing it forwards with one foot, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. 'Dinner.' He added rather pointlessly.

The marine looked at the chef with one eyebrow raised. Causing the young blonde to get a little angry.

'Don't read anything into it.' He muttered defensively. 'I'm a chef, I can't stand letting people go hungry.'

To his credit, Smoker simply reached forwards and accepted the offering, which surprised the other man. He wondered what his captain had done to mellow the man quite so much. If not to all pirates, then at least to their crew.

'Thanks' the marine mumbled, taking a bite. Sanji couldn't help but grin when the older man's eyes widened slightly.

'Good, eh?' Sanji queried, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with one smooth motion.

Smoker gulped and took another large bite, completely ignoring the question. Sanji smirked and turned his back on the marine, preparing to walk back to his nakama. He paused briefly.

'Thanks…' he muttered harshly, his blonde hair blowing in the gentle breeze. The marine paused long enough to look up at the young chef in confusion. Sanji looked backwards over his shoulder and chuckled lightly when he realized the man hadn't understood.

'For bringing him back.' The pirate clarified. He briefly pulled one hand from his pocket to gesture at the rest of the crew who were still sitting around the fire. The marine noticed that their spirits had risen noticeably since their captain's return. His eyes shifted to the captain himself who was still grinning blankly at his crew.

'We know what it must have cost you to bring him back to us…' the blonde allowed his voice to trail off as he looked up at the stars above. There was something in his tone that told the marine more than the simple words had, and for the first time he fully appreciated just how much the young pirate crew needed it's captain.

Smoker nodded wordlessly, accepting the thanks before adding his own. 'Your captain is a strong man.'

Sanji nodded again, and shoved his hands back into his pockets, still staring at the stars. Making it look as though he were slouching. He gave a funny little half sigh and shrugged. 'Yeah, he is.' Then he walked back to the rest of his crew without another word. Leaving the marine to finish his meal.

Smoker looked at the meat in his hand before taking another bite, looking up at the stars himself as he chewed. He couldn't make peace with the fact that he detected no maliciousness from this group. The marine looked at the pirate crew, happily feasting around the fire and found that he couldn't reconcile them with his universal image of how a pirate should behave. The image that had been ingrained in him by his father since he was a boy.

He sighed again amd leaved his back against the tree, allowing his eyes to close gently as the breeze ruffled his white hair. As his mind began to mull over the issue… They snapped open again when he heard an overly loud, cheerful voice suddenly calling from across the beach.

'Smoooooooooker!!!!' Luffy's voice rang through the silent night. He waved the soldier over, still giggling slightly to himself.

The rest of the crew had fallen silent and were watching the marine discreetly, trying to guess what he would do.

'Join, uuuuus!!' Luffy called again, rather obnoxiously. He held up a handful of sand and pointed at it. 'We have cake!!' he tempted happily. Sanji slapped his own forehead as the others snickered quietly.

The older man rolled his eyes discreetly, but to the rest of the crew's surprise stood up and walked over to the still delusional pirate.

'What?' he grunted when he was close enough.

'What, what?' the dark haired boy asked pleasantly.

'What!' the marine began harshly, before taking a deep calming breath, 'Do you want?' he finished more calmly.

Luffy tilted his head to one side as he studied the older man, his foggy eyes growing even more pronounced and his eyelids drooping halfway. It was painfully obvious that his exhaustion was once again catching up with him and that he would soon be fast asleep. 'I don't hate you!' he stated suddenly, another huge grin in place. Without waiting for a response from the startled marine, Luffy turned to his startled crew. 'Goodnight!' he said in the same breath.

'Hang on!' Chopper said suddenly, stepping forwards. 'You need to take this before you go to sleep. It'll stop your fever from rising again during the night, and it will also prevent any nightmares from being in the water so long.'

Luffy's grin slipped a few notches and he reached for the medicine. 'Thanks Doc!' the pirate said sincerely, swallowing the medicine in one gulp and falling asleep immediately before he'd even had a chance to lay down completely, his head plonking gently onto the sand.

'Night captain.' Nami said with a small smile as she lay her spare coat over her sleeping friend.

'That's some STRONG medicine.' Sanji observed with a slight grin.

Chopper grinned at the Chef. 'Well Luffy has always had a strong reaction to medicines in general. Usually I give him half of what I give to the rest of you and it's just as effective. I gave him a full dose today – I thought he could use a proper rest.'

'Why is it so effective on him?' Nami asked curiously. 'Is it because of the devil fruit?'

'Well…' Chopper began. 'That could be part of it – but I also think it's just part of his genetic make-up. He's not used to needing medicine, so his body hasn't built up any kind of tolerance for it.' The young reindeer chuckled as he bent slightly to feel in Luffy's wrist for a pulse. 'I remember the only time he ever came to me for a headache cure, I wasn't sure of his tolerance so I gave him a regular adult dose. Thirty seconds later he'd passed out on the floor – I thought I'd killed him.'

Smoker made an odd half strangled noise which he quickly covered up with a cough, then he turned quickly and walked back to sit under the same tree as before – but not before the rest of the crew got a look at the rather amused expression on his face at finding his formidable opponent had such a strange weakness.

The crew looked at each other and then Usopp and Nami grinned. 'It's probably best our other enemies don't find out about _that _particular weakness.' Usopp muttered staring at Smoker out of the corner of his eye.

'What do you mean?' Chopper asked as he stood up, apparently satisfied with their Captain's progress.

'Well, he can beat all the tough guys we come up against, they don't stand a chance. But give him an adult dose of headache cure and 'BAM' out like a light!'

Sanji sniggered. 'Ah, I see what you mean.' There was a brief silence as everyone stared at their friend and then Nami sighed lightly.

'We should all get some sleep.' She advised the crew. 'We'll need to get out of here first thing tomorrow morning in case any marines,' she paused and shot a look at Smoker, who pointedly ignored her. 'Decide to patrol the beach.'

'Looks like Zoro beat us to it.' Usopp snickered as they settled again next to the pirate. Signalling over his shoulder at the swordsman who was deeply asleep next to the fire.

Sanji grinned rather evilly and was about to go and wake up the moss haired young man when he was stopped by Nami. 'Let him sleep, Sanji kun.' She whispered. 'You have no idea how worried he's been.'

Sanji's eyes filled with hearts and he grinned. 'Nami swan is so considerate!' he yelled, shutting up quickly when his captain groaned quietly and twitched in his sleep.

'Still…' Usopp said conversationally, still very much awake. 'I've never seen Luffy so willing to take medicine. What was that about?'

Chopper rolled away from the marksman grumpily. 'Being in the water for so long would give any devil fruit user nightmares worse than you can possibly imagine.' He slurred, obviously half asleep. 'The medicine will prevent them. Usually Luffy refuses it, but I guess tonight after everything he's been through and with the fever, he thought he could use a little extra help. Remember, he's still not quite himself… now goodnight!' he said with finality, conversation very much over.

Usopp chucked. 'Goodnight.' He returned, thinking about the doctor's answer. He looked quickly around and saw that everyone else was fast asleep. The marksman nodded decisively and scooted closer to the fire, deciding to keep watch again while his nakama slept.

After a few minutes of staring into the fire, Usopp realized that if any marines were to come up the dark beach he wouldn't see them if he was blinded by staring into the bright fire, and pointedly shifted his glance. His eyes moved of their own accord and immediately sought out his sleeping captain.

Usopp tilted his head to one side as he observed the black-haired man. Luffy was sleeping on his side, his face gently illuminated by the fire. His cheeks were flushed lightly from his fever and his mouth was partly open. There was for once no trace of a smile on his face and he was completely still. It was obvious that whatever the doctor had given the sick pirate, had knocked him out cold.

The marksman grinned slightly at the novelty of watching his captain sleep and felt an unexpected wave of affection when Luffy very briefly twitched. The smile faded from the curly haired man's face as he realized how close they had come to losing him and he felt a physical pain in his heart. He wasn't in love with Luffy, he knew that he was in love with Kaya from his home village. But on many levels the bond his captain had with the whole crew went beyond simple love.

A breeze blew gently, ruffling Luffy's black bangs and, together with the strange dappled light of their campfire, for a moment, giving Usopp the impression that their captain was under the water. His face pale and the underwater current moving his hair as he sank slowly into the silent water.

Suddenly, Usopp's imagination took over, he pictured his captain sinking alone into the oily depths and he felt his heart constrict in his chest with worry for his friend as he lay, uncharacteristically pale and still,. He stood and almost tripped himself as he rushed over to his friend's side, breathing out in relief when he saw Luffy's chest gently rise and fall as he slept.

Usopp reached over and gently felt Luffy's forehead and grinned again when he realized that although it was still higher than normal. It was no longer the unnatural searing heat it had been when Smoker had brought the boy back.

He looked over his shoulder to where the marine was sitting, and noticed that the older man was still awake, staring at the stars. Usopp decided from the look on his face. The white-haired man was contemplating a very large problem, and gulped as he decided not to approach.

The long nosed man looked back at his sleeping captain and gently brushed the black bangs from his forehead, starting slightly when Luffy's chocolate eyes opened halfway.

'Hi.' Usopp whispered, noticing from the weariness that his captain was still virtually asleep. 'It's ok here, everything is fine.'

The captain gave a sleepy smile as his eyes drifted shut again and Usopp couldn't help but stare. He hadn't noticed it before, but apparently the childish captain of the Going Merry was growing into quite an attractive person. Usopp smiled gently. _How_ _fitting for a king…._ The marksman thought randomly as he noticed the pink tinge on the horizon as the sun began to rise. He sighed happily and left his captain to sleep as he went to wake up the rest of the crew.

* * *

20 minutes later the others were up and packed. Luffy was awake and standing, but still looked exhausted and rather dazed. He had eaten his breakfast quickly but had not joined in the conversation, showing the others that he was still not himself. When the crew had questioned the doctor he had been unconcerned and had reminded them that Luffy was still human, even if he didn't always act like it.

While Sanji kicked sand over their fire, Smoker came forwards to stand before Luffy. He took a deep breath. 'Look.' He muttered, obviously steeling himself to say something difficult.

Luffy shook his head. 'You didn't know. It's fine.' The marine nodded once at the grinning pirate. _Apology_ _accepted_. He thought wryly.

The pirates turned and began to walk up the beach towards their ship, the crew automatically adjusting their speed to keep up with Luffy's slower pace.

'Hey.' The marine said suddenly, catching their attention. 'Have you thought of giving up piracy and becoming a marine?'

The crew looked at the white haired man as though he was insane. But Luffy simply laughed and touched his hat. 'You sound like my grandpa.' He muttered, the crew hearing him and looking at each other in confusion.

He looked up at the marine and grinned again. 'The sea is so much more free to pirates.' He declared. 'We can go where we like, and live our own adventures.' He grinned wickedly. 'Besides, you don't get to have a bounty if you're a marine…' He chuckled rather mysteriously at the marine's blank look and continued on down the beach, his nakama mulling over what their captain had said, each grinning to themselves. As they boarded the ship and gentle breeze blew and they could tell from the sunrise that it was going to be a beautiful day for sailing.

They all smiled when Luffy jumped up on the figurehead and began laughing wildly with his arms in the air. 'LET'S GOO!!!' he yelled happily, obviously happy to be back where he belonged.

Aye!' They shouted together. Grinning wildly now that their captain was beginning to act more like himself.

As the Going Merry began to move towards the distant sunrise Luffy smiled and leant back until he was lying on the figurehead apparently preparing for another nap, he sighed happily and his eyes slid closed.

The sea really was very free.

* * *

AN – well there you go everyone. This particular story is over and done with (sorry it took so long!!) I didn't even have a chance to run this by anyone for reviewing, it's so incredibly late. Hope you enjoyed it, and keep your eye out for my new Luffy-centric story that will be coming out in the next few months. (If I get a chance to type it out…) 


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